Unholy Dragon of the End
by shinobu senpai
Summary: The dream must come to an end—that is Issei's final goal. This is the story leading up to that final encounter, and somewhere in between, he gets caught up in this huge mess between various mythological factions and manages to score himself a harem. Featuring an adorable Ophis, a yandere Gabriel, and a crabby Crom Cruach as a mentor. Some OOC characters. OP!Issei x Harem.
1. Prologue

**Quick little author's note: Thank you all for clicking on this story! Obviously, as I see to be a well-loved trend in Highschool DxD stories, Issei will be overpowered. Disgustingly so. Harem (of course) and fight scenes galore. Also, the aim here is to create a story that is entertaining to read and leaves the reader with a good feeling. I'll pay my due respect to the events that happened in the light novels, but I'll be adding my own twists and turns as I see fit.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

The dream must come to an end—that is Issei's final goal. This is the story leading up to that final encounter, and somewhere in between, he gets caught up in this huge mess between various mythological factions and manages to score himself a harem. Featuring an adorable Ophis, a yandere Gabriel, and a crabby Crom Cruach as a mentor. Some OOC characters. OP!Issei x Harem.

* * *

 **ARC I: In Search of an Angel**

* * *

Unholy Dragon of the End

 **Prologue**

* * *

Issei was eleven when he learned the definition of "overpowered".

"So you're saying that I'm overpowered?" he asked innocently, looking down at his gauntlet.

Ddraig sighed. _Yes, partner. It's almost unfair to other people who actually train to become strong._

The boy thought on this. He looked back and forth between the large swath of forest he had just annihilated with a burst of flame and back at the gauntlet covering his hand. The corpse of an Evil Dragon laid before him, completely charred black. He hadn't even used [Boost] yet. "I don't think I'm _that_ overpowered."

 _Are you kidding me?_ the dragon scoffed. _Do you know who you just one-shotted?_

"Not particularly. I think he called himself Azi-something. I couldn't hear his voice over the fire."

The forest burned in the crimson flames of purgatory. The heat made Issei feel warm and satisfied, like drinking hot chocolate on a cold day, but in reality the heat alone killed everything living with a hundred meter radius.

 _The Diabolism Thousand Dragon Azi Dahaka!_ Ddraig pretty much yelled at him. Issei raised an eyebrow. _It took an army of Zoroastrian gods to even seal him! You, an eleven year old boy, just burned his mortal body! Dragons are supposed to be immune to fire, you know?_

Issei remained silent for a moment, processing Ddraig's words. A small smile crept onto his face. "Ddraig, I know that, secretly, you're _very_ pleased right now."

… _I admit nothing_.

"Ddraig," Issei teased, "how does it feel knowing that your host is one of the most overpowered people on this earth?"

The dragon remained silent, but Issei already knew what his answer would be. For all the indignation that Ddraig showed, he, at his very core, was a prideful and arrogant dragon. Those two traits rubbed off on Issei sometimes.

 _It feels great_ , Ddraig finally said. _People will learn to fear the Heavenly Red Dragon Emperor again._

"Damn right they will," Issei smiled savagely.

* * *

Michael received some troubling news.

The Leader of the Seraphim had a lot on his mind with fulfilling God's duties in His absence, but out of the thousands of reports submitted to him, this one was the most troubling. It read, simply:

 _Report from the Realm of the Dead. Cocytus has been breached. 57 reapers have been killed in combat. Samael has been unchained and slain on the spot. It seems that his curse had been either removed or taken. Be on the lookout for the Evil Intention of God. There were no witnesses._

Michael's hands shook. Samael was an angel who betrayed God and corrupted Adam and Eve, creating the Original Sin. In his anger, God cursed Samael with the body of a dragon and made his blood poisonous to not just dragons but all of existence, condemning Samael to an eternity of pain.

But who was the idiot that stole Samael's curse? What would anybody serve to gain from this? Michael, in his vast wisdom, could not come up with a likely culprit. He tried combining two categories of people together: people strong enough to breach Cocytus and people insane enough to take the Curse of Samael.

Michael covered his face with his hands. Sensing her comrade's grievances, the Seraph Gabriel appeared by his side. "Are you alright, Michael?"

Without saying a word, Michael pushed the report to Gabriel. She read over the words carefully. "This is unfortunate. Would you like for me to look into this matter?"

"Yes," he said tiredly, slumping against the table. "Thank you so much, Gabriel. Dealing with this is the last thing I want to do right now."

"Any time, Michael." Gabriel sent him a smile before creating a portal in the air. She walked through it quickly so that Michael would not be able to see through it. She'd be in a fair amount of trouble if the other Seraphs found the state of her personal room.

Gabriel collapsed onto her bed. She gripped her Issei-body pillow and sighed, crushing it within her grasp—

Backtrack.

Upon closer inspection, the contents of Gabriel's room would not just land her in a fair amount of trouble; it would probably be enough for her to fall and become a member of the fallen angel faction. Almost every inch of the room was covered in pictures of Issei Hyoudou. It seems almost as if Gabriel had painstakingly went to the trouble of stalking the boy, taking pictures in different angles in various states of undress.

She did not call it obsession. Her love for Issei Hyoudou was unfailingly pure. If it were anything else, Gabriel would have fallen immediately, but with all of her heart she loved Issei Hyoudou. She knew exactly the moment when it happened, too, but that was a story for another time.

"Issei, you naughty boy," Gabriel sighed, burying her face into the body pillow, "stealing Samael's curse like that."

The Seraph had been watching over Issei for years. Although the boy went to painstaking lengths to appear as inconspicuous as possible and even developed a skill to mask his draconic aura, nothing got by Gabriel's eyes. The seals and barrier he set up to protect his training sessions from outside eyes were not powerful enough to stop her from prying. She was his self-designated guardian angel.

Obviously, Gabriel was a bit worried for Issei. Being the host of the Red Dragon Emperor and taking Samael's curse might be fatal to his body, but if anybody could survive it, it would be Issei. The angel never shared any information that she learned about Issei with anybody else, not even Michael.

She also knew why Issei stole Samael's curse. The fact that he did it solely for the Ouroboros Dragon made an ugly emotion rear its head in Gabriel's mind. It was something she had never experienced before, and she didn't know what it was called either. But, in her mind, it was only thanks to Issei that she was able to experience all of these different things.

Gabriel chuckled. One day, she'll be able to openly talk to Issei again. She'll patiently wait for that day to come.

* * *

Issei looked down at his meal. A black snake writhed in the middle of his sliced pork chops.

Without a word of complaint, Issei swallowed the snake whole. Immediately, he felt an insane boost of power. As per usual, he concentrated the power and stored it deep within himself. Then he moved on to the pork chops, wolfing them down in a few bites.

"Ophis," he called. The Ouroboros Dragon stood next to him nervously, back rigid. "Come here."

Ophis slowly walked to him. There was something strangely satisfying about seeing one of the most powerful beings in the world be so nervous. Issei enveloped her in a hug and kissed her gently on the cheek. "It tasted amazing. Don't worry, your cooking is really good."

Her body relaxed. A small smile appeared on her face.

"This is disgusting," Crom Cruach said. The Crescent Circle Dragon looked beyond disturbed, going so far as to block his eyes from the sight before him. "To be honest, this is the last thing I thought would happen."

 _You can say that again,_ Ddraig agreed.

Neither of the dragons wanted to see the second most powerful dragon in the world cuddle up to a thirteen year old kid. It slightly wounded their pride as a species. Also, there was the unfortunate implication arising from the fact that Ophis was actually genderless and a couple of millennia old, but Ddraig and Crom Cruach both silently agreed to not tell Issei that.

What was this situation that Crom Cruach had landed himself in?

At first, when he spotted the Red Dragon Emperor's host at the age of nine, Crom Cruach intended to fight and kill him on the spot. Instead, what ended up happening was that the Evil Dragon took him on as an apprentice and taught him how to fight like a true dragon. Ddraig, being sealed in his Longinus, could not teach Issei how to fight physically, so Crom Cruach took responsibility of that job.

Crom Cruach remembered the day it had happened. He ran into Issei at a restaurant chain, tried to fight him on the spot, and immediately got whooped by Ophis right behind him. Crom Cruach loved a good fight more than any dragon alive, but he wasn't stupid—he knew Ophis could crunch him on the spot with two fingers if she really wanted to.

Ddraig had been awakened at that point. He figured out that Ddraig had formally awakened sometime when Issei was eight. Apparently, under Ophis's tutelage alone, Issei had already achieved Juggernaut Drive a few months prior to meeting Crom Cruach, meaning that it took the child less than six months to enter Juggernaut Drive.

Also, according to Ddraig, Ophis had been with Issei by the time he was awakened. The entire time, Ophis had been feeding Issei black snakes of raw power.

Ophis's power was infinite; she was named the Infinite Dragon God, after all. She had more than enough juice in her to feed Issei a disproportionately large amount of power every day for almost every meal for the past few years. The end result was that the mortal boy had a scary amount of power stored within him, and the worst part was that Issei learned some sort of skill to hide his aura so that nobody had a true grasp of just how dangerous he was.

The damned little twit. Crom Cruach sipped at his tea with a sour expression. One day, Crom Cruach swore that he was going to fully fight Issei Hyoudou.

Issei stood up and cried out in pain. His knees gave out and Ophis barely managed to steady him, sitting him down on a couch. Crom Cruach watched with slight terror as the veins in Issei's body turned a black color.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Shut up, Crom Crotch," Issei hissed, deliberately mispronouncing Crom Cruach's name. He shut his eyes and attempted to take deep breaths in intervals. "Have a bit more sympathy for the Evil Intention of God, will ya?"

 _The Evil Intention of God?_ Crom Cruach narrowed his eyes. _Since when did the brat learn to speak in such a cryptic manner—_

"No."

The most powerful Evil Dragon, said to be on par in strength with the Heavenly Dragons in their prime, stood up and took a huge step backwards from Issei Hyoudou. The boy had an almost crazed expression on his face, twisting his lips into a predatory smile. Ophis just sat next to him, leaning her little head against his shoulder, as if she didn't care that the boy beside her was completely insane.

"You… you took Samael's curse?" Crom Cruach barely got out. Issei just nodded in reply. With each beat of Issei's heart, Crom Cruach saw the poison in Issei's vessels spread from his heart to his entire body. How good was the boy at hiding his aura? Crom Cruach couldn't even detect a single hint of the immensely hateful aura that plagued the recipient of Samuel's curse. "I knew you were rash, but _why_?"

Issei looked at him. "Why? It's simple. Only Samael's poison can help me achieve my goal." He stifled a cough.

The teen held up a finger. "My goal is to kill Great Red. As you can see, that would be impossible without the power of the Dragon Eater. So, I took Samael's curse upon myself."

Crom Cruach stood there, completely shocked. "There are so many things wrong with what you just said, but just tell me this: how can you bear the curse of God?"

Issei smiled. This time, it wasn't one of his animalistic smirks; instead, it was a sweet smile, one that couldn't be faked even by the greatest actor on the planet. Instead of giving Crom Cruach a straight reply, Issei just hugged Ophis close to him and closed his eyes.

The Crescent Circle Dragon understood immediately.

* * *

At the age of fifteen, Issei was already accused of being a pedophile.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he always held onto Ophis's hand whenever they were in public. Although she could shapeshift into whatever form she wanted to, Ophis insisted on remaining in the form she was when Issei truly bonded with her, so she stayed in the body of a seven year old.

He liked to spoil her. Ophis had a sweet tooth, so whenever it was possible, Issei took her to buy some ice cream. They always ate together at the park bench where Issei used to play, watching the sun go down in the distance. The act wasn't necessarily romantic; Ophis simply could not grasp the concept of romance or lust, and Issei didn't seek that sort of relationship with her anyways.

Issei loved Ophis unconditionally, and he knew that she loved him back just as much. That sort of love, the complete and utter trust they had in each other, only came about after spending lifetimes together. He shuddered at the repressed memory of the hell he'd endured with Ophis—Issei knew that one day, he would have to come to terms with what had happened, but he knew that that day would not come soon.

Ophis tugged on his shirt sleeve. Although she said nothing, Issei knew her well enough to understand her concern. Hugging her close, Issei assured, "It's nothing. I just recalled something I'd rather have forgotten."

Since she had the body of a small child, Issei was able to cuddle with her like a teddy bear. He was aware of how creepy he looked—a fifteen year old boy cradling a seven year old girl—but he couldn't help himself. Holding her close put him at rest and eased the constant throb of poison in his body.

Her finger poked at a rather vicious cut on his arm. She wiped her mouth of ice cream with a paper napkin and said, "What is this."

Issei rather liked the way Ophis spoke; to the untrained ear, it seemed to be that her voice was completely flat, but Issei was able to catch the minor inflections in her tone.

"It's just a cut I got sparring with Crom Cruach," he dismissed. "He was getting angry that I wasn't facing him seriously enough. He wanted me to use [Boosted Gear], but there was no way I was going to use a [Boost] against him. I'd never give that shitty old drag the satisfaction of fighting anything more than my base form."

Although his words were harsh, Issei was secretly very fond of Crom Cruach. The so-called "Evil" Dragon was too honorable of a dragon for Issei to consider him truly evil. Crom Cruach just wanted to fight strong opponents, and it was his merciless way of dispatching his foes that landed him the moniker of an Evil Dragon. But Issei would rather crucify himself in Cocytus than tell Crom Cruach those thoughts.

Ophis gently rubbed his arm. "I see. Please do not push yourself too hard."

"Don't worry." Issei patted her on the head. "I can take it. You know that I'll take on the world for you, Ophis."

The Ouroboros Dragon nodded, burying her head into Issei's shoulder. She did this often whenever Issei touched her affectionately. Apparently, she didn't like it when someone could see the Infinite Dragon God blushing. He could feel the outline of her smile against the fabric of his shirt.

There was a certain level of understanding between them. What Ophis wanted, Issei wanted. Conversely, what Issei wanted, Ophis wanted as well. Ophis wanted to kill Great Red so that she could return to her home. Issei wanted the power to be able to kill Great Red. Their interests aligned in that way.

He had made a promise with Ophis, long ago.

 _I don't want you to kill anyone anymore._

 _Instead, use me as your sword._

 _Let me cover my hands in blood so that yours may remain clean._

 _Promise me that, and I will never leave your side._

The sun dipped behind the horizon, bathing everything in a reddish glow. Issei was reminded of the fact that school was starting soon. In a couple of weeks, he'd be sixteen and starting his first year at Kuoh Academy.

"Ne, Ophis?"

She looked at him with wide, grey eyes.

"When I go to school, will you come with me?"

"School," she repeated. In the past, Ophis always declined going to school with Issei, and unfortunately, it seemed that the answer this time would not change. "No, I won't."

Issei frowned, but it wasn't like he expected anything different. School was just far too boring and mundane for Ophis, so asking her to come was a bit of a stretch. She also found most other humans incredibly annoying.

"It's not that I don't want to spend time with you," she clarified. "I just want you to have a human experience for as long as possible."

Issei had to take five deep breaths to calm his heart rate down. _Ophis, you're too sweet. You're going to be the death of me someday._ Samael's poison still throbbed in his veins, but it was a lot better since he stole the curse two years ago. Either he got used to the constant pain or his body managed to function with it.

The two looked at the twilight sky. It reminded Issei of the time when he first met Ophis. He stretched his hand out towards the sky, wrapping his fingers around the moon.

There was someone else he desperately wanted to find. He knew that she wasn't mortal; her aura was far too powerful to be anything less than a ultimate-tier being, even when she was actively trying to hide it. As long as he saw her again, Issei would instantly be able to recognize her: an otherworldly, beautiful woman with curly blonde hair, possessing an angelic voice that guided him out of the pits of despair.

With the ghost of a smile on his face, Issei finished the rest of his ice cream.

* * *

Sidestep, duck, block, right hook, backwards roll, feint, spinning back heel kick—

Crom Cruach caught Issei's leg and threw him towards the fence. The sixteen year old deftly readjusted his weight and pushed against the fence with his palms, negating the force of the throw and landing silently on the ground without sustaining any damage.

"Tch, arrogant brat," the Crescent Circle Dragon snarled, wiping the sweat off of his brow. "When did I ever teach you such a useless and flashy move?"

Sensing a lull in battle, Issei took the time to remove his sweat-stained shirt. The thing was only holding him back anyways. He wiped his chiseled chest and hard abdomen of any sweat and threw the shirt onto the ground.

What was that? Did Issei hear the sound of a camera going off in the distance? He probably hallucinated that.

"You know I could have attacked you when you did that," the dragon said.

"Sure you could've," Issei shrugged, "but you wouldn't. I know you well enough to know that you only like to fight fairly. Plus, I'm getting hungry. We've been going at it for… how long, Ddraig?"

 _From six in the morning to noon_ , Ddraig told him. _What, tired already, partner?_

Issei laughed. "Tired? Ddraig, the Red Dragon Emperor never tires."

"You sure know what to say to make Ddraig happy," Crom Cruach scoffed, walking through the backdoor to Issei's house. He briefly poked his head out the door frame. "Issei, Ophis says lunch is ready."

Issei followed the tall man into his house. "Stay for lunch, C.C."

"Don't refer to me by that name," the dragon snapped, already taking a seat at Issei's table. Ophis placed a cheap, microwaveable salmon burger on the dragon's plate while placing a delicately made Caesar salad in front of Issei's seat. As always, a thick, black snake laid coiled around his meal. Crom Cruach sighed, already used to the clear favoritism Ophis displayed when making meals.

"Oh? Why not?" Issei grinned, clapping his hands together. "Thank you for the meal!"

A vein appeared on Crom Cruach's forehead. Issei started calling him C.C. ever since he finished watching some anime series about teenagers with superpowers and mechas. He didn't know what was worse: being called Crom Crotch or being called C.C., the apparent name of Issei's "waifu".

Lunch in the Issei household was a fairly ordinary affair. Most of the time, Crom Cruach ate with Issei and Ophis. He imagined that the house must have felt lonely sometimes with Issei and Ophis being the only ones living there.

"Oi, C.C.," the boy suddenly called, rousing the dragon out of his thoughts, "does the name 'Rias Gremory' ring any bells?"

"Rias Gremory." Crom Cruach thought for a moment, wondering why the name sounded so familiar. Suddenly, it struck him. "Rias Gremory, the heiress of the Gremory Clan, proclaimed by others to be the Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess. Her brother is the current Lucifer, Sirzechs Gremory."

"A devil, I assume?"

"Yes, of course. I think she may have her own peerage as well." Crom Cruach gave Issei a curious look. "Why do you ask?"

"Ah." Issei blinked. "Rias Gremory is my senpai at Kuoh Academy."

The Crescent Circle Dragon dropped his fork, clattering against his plate. " _What?_ How? Surely I would have sensed it—"

"There's a barrier around Kuoh Academy," Issei interrupted. "I noticed it the moment I stepped foot onto school grounds. Someone very talented in magic put it up, but after I walked in, I could sense all of their demonic auras. C.C., if you know Rias Gremory, surely you must know Souna Shitori?"

"Souna Shitori?" Crom Cruach frowned. "Can't say that I do. I know a Sona Sitri, though. She's the heir to the Sitri Clan and the younger sister of Serafall Leviathan." Serafall Leviathan and Sirzechs Lucifer—two people Crom Cruach desperately wanted to fight against.

"So at least Sona's a bit smarter," Issei concluded, "going under an alias like that. Souna Shitori still sounds like Sona Sitri, though. I'd never thought that I'd be going to a school with two devil heiresses." He gave Ophis a rueful look. "There goes my ordinary human experience, eh?"

Ophis said nothing, her facial expression barely changing.

"Aw, I'll be fine," Issei assured. "I'm being extra careful to hide my aura. I'm pretty much a normal person at school. There's no need for your concern."

Crom Cruach rubbed his temples. He was definitely missing out on something here. Sometimes, it seemed like Issei and Ophis had a language of their own, conveying prominent emotions with just the minutest change in expression. Often, Crom Cruach would find himself wondering about the specific event that brought both of them together; Issei dropped hints that something major had happened, but the boy was definitely not about to share exactly _what_ had occurred.

"How's school?" Crom Cruach asked. His eyes widened when he realized what he just said.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Issei feigned ignorance, raising a hand to his ear. "I swear you just asked me if—"

"Don't get me wrong, you brat," the dragon snarled, "I couldn't care less about how you were doing—wipe that shit-eating grin off your face. It would just be problematic to me if the child under my tutelage was growing up to become an idiot."

Issei said, "I'm doing well, I guess. It's not like I'm at the top of the grade or anything, but my grades are up there." He sighed, shutting his eyes. "The girls there are all very pretty, too. It's distracting, C.C., I swear."

Ophis stood up. With an unreadable expression, she collected everyone's dishes and went to the sink.

"Is she jealous?" Crom Cruach wondered aloud.

"No," the boy denied. "I've talked to her about this before. As long as I put her first and never leave her, Ophis wouldn't even care if I gathered a harem."

"Ho? Is that a goal of yours?"

Issei smiled wryly. "We'll see."

* * *

Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima stood next to a window, watching a certain brown-haired teenager walk towards the exit of school.

He stopped in his tracks. All of a sudden, he turned around and his eyes immediately found Rias and Akeno. With a slight shrug, the boy continued on his walk as if nothing had happened. However, both of the girls knew one thing for certain: _he knew that they were watching him_.

The devil and her queen sat down on an expensive-looking couch. Akeno deftly raised a cup of tea to her mouth and drank from it quietly, while Rias seemed to be deep in thought. After a while, she requested, "Akeno, can you gather Yuuto and Sona's peerage?"

"Of course." She stood up and exited the room to find the rest of the Occult Research Club. Akeno found Yuuto quite quickly, but it took a bit more to find Sona Sitri. A lot of her peerage were out doing student council activities, but Sona's ever-present queen, Tsubaki Shinra, accompanied her king to the Occult Research Club's room.

Everyone made themselves comfortable. There were only five people in the room: Rias, Akeno, Yuuto, Sona, and Tsubaki. Koneko was still at Kuoh Academy's middle-school division, so Rias didn't see any point in gathering her here.

"So, as you all might know, there is a certain first-year in Yuuto's class," Rias began, taking a seat at her usual chair. "His name is Issei Hyoudou. Although he seems like a human, I believe that he is something more than that."

Sona Sitri straightened her glasses. "I agree with you."

Everyone gave their agreement except for Tsubaki. She still seemed dubious. "I don't know, Sona. I didn't notice anything off about Hyoudou. He's quite nice, actually. All the clubs tell me that he helps out whenever they need someone."

"You're right," Yuuto agreed. He missed the slight blush that popped up on Tsubaki's cheeks as he kept on speaking. "On the outside, he seems like a normal kid. In fact, I was watching him play around with the kendo club the other day. He's actually terrible with a sword. But…"

His voice trailed off, as if he was unsure of how to select his words. "When I'm next to him, if I shut my eyes and go by sense and gut feeling alone… Issei doesn't _feel_ like a human. There's something very off. I'm sorry that I can't say anything more concrete than that."

"That's fine, Yuuto," Rias said. "I trust your instincts. Personally, I think that he's a normal human in possession of a Sacred Gear. Not a very strong one, but a Sacred Gear nonetheless."

Sona looked like she had something more to say, but the devil kept her mouth shut. Finally, she asked, "Alright. Then what are you planning on doing? Add him to your peerage?" Her eyes narrowed. "Did you just want Tsubaki and me here just to tell us to keep our hands off of him?

The redhead sighed. "Aw, Sona, you're too smart. But yes, if Issei Hyoudou is truly a Sacred Gear user, then I plan on adding him to my peerage. I wanted you to know that." Sona stared down Rias. The two heiresses did not break eye contact, allowing a bit of tension to build in the room.

"Thank you for letting me know." Sona stood up, bowing. Tsubaki followed suit. "But unfortunately, I have my eye on Hyoudou as well. If you think that you can recruit him uncontested, well, you have another thing coming, Rias."

"I expected nothing less."

The two devils smiled at each other.

* * *

The sun was setting, causing the sky to turn a brilliant golden color.

A seventeen year old Issei Hyoudou stood on a bridge over a freeway with his mouth hanging slightly open. In front of him stood a flushed and embarrassed teenage girl. Her straight, obsidian hair cascaded over her shoulders as she bowed. When Issei didn't reply, she looked back up, revealing a pair of lovely violet eyes.

"U-Um," she stuttered. Her arms were straight, clinging to her slender hips. She tried again. "My name is Yuuma Amano. I love you, Issei."

He stood there, abashed.

"Please go out with me!" With this, she bowed her head again, waiting for Issei's reply. Her words sounded so genuine. The tremor in her voice, the high-pitched tone in which she spoke; all of these qualities made her seem incredibly cute and adorable to Issei.

Issei wondered how "Yuuma" became such a good actor. Was it a course every fallen angel went through? This particular one was excellent at using innocence in the art of seduction. He wasn't quite sure what her goal was—if she figured out he was the Red Dragon Emperor, the Grigori definitely would have sent someone of a higher rank to approach Issei. Maybe they thought he was some ordinary Sacred Gear user?

He very, very quickly went over the situation in his mind. In a city full of devils, this fallen angel approached him. She's probably not working alone, either, which means that there were two factions in the same city. That alone was already quite a volatile situation. Issei would be playing with fire if he got himself involved.

However… Issei was a dragon, and he _loved_ playing with fire.

"Sure. Let's go out, Yuuma."

* * *

 **Once again, thanks to all for reading! This was just the prologue, so future chapters will probably be a more connected narrative instead of a bunch of random little scenes mashed together. As stated before, Issei will be very, very powerful. Also, the event that caused Issei and Ophis to get so close and for Gabriel to become obsessed with Issei is the same event, but I'm not planning on revealing that for a while. Also, Crom Cruach being called C.C. is a reference to Code Geass. I inserted Crom Cruach as Issei's sorta mentor-figure because I honestly think Crom Cruach would be the best at training. After all, he trained himself to become as powerful as Ddraig and Albion were in their prime. Teaching Issei how to fight and train would only make him stronger.**

 **As you can see, Issei took the curse of Samael. I was doing some research on that, and it's said that Samael's curse is basically all of God's evil, anger, and hatred poured into one curse. It also has the ability to absorb and steal the power of other dragons and consume them. Of course, this is vital if Issei wishes to even have a chance of defeating Great Red, which is the end goal. This is also where the "Unholy" comes from in the title, Unholy Dragon of the End.**

 **At this point, the story is very open and changeable, so let me know what your thoughts are in the reviews. Due to Issei's nature of being a dragon not allied to anyone, literally any girl can be in his harem. Just let me know who you want, and I'll see what I can do. I'd like to see what my reviewers like and didn't like.**

 **Thanks.**


	2. Time for a Date at Sunset

**I'm astounded, to be honest. Thank you for the 100+ favorites and follows and the 30 reviews! I'm not going to babble much since I bet you all just want to read the new chapter, but I wanted you all to know how much I appreciate this support.**

 **The chapter's around 11k words, and I tried to keep the tone a mix between light-hearted and somewhat serious. Lemme know how it went!**

* * *

The dream must come to an end—that is Issei's final goal. This is the story leading up to that final encounter, and somewhere in between, he gets caught up in this huge mess between various mythological factions and manages to score himself a harem. Featuring an adorable Ophis, a yandere Gabriel, and a crabby Crom Cruach as a mentor. Some OOC characters. OP!Issei x Harem.

* * *

 _Pain, suffering, agony—three perfect words that one could use to describe Samael's existence._

 _Throughout the constant, black haze that surrounded his vision, the fallen angel saw something strange. He wondered if he was hallucinating; surely, being chained to a cross and imprisoned in the bottommost layer of hell induced a lot of strange visions, but seeing a small, Japanese boy slaughter a squadron of half-gods right before his eyes was not one of those visions Samael saw often._

 _He didn't know what happened. All of a sudden, the incessant pressure in Samael's wrists disappeared, and the nails that secured his body to the cross fell uselessly to the ground. The chains that had bound him for eons were finally undone, and Samael felt his limp body fall and sag on the hot sands of Cocytus._

 _"_ _Urgh," the boy before him grunted, "you don't look too good. Last time I saw you, you had a blindfold on. Where did that go? Your eyes are creeping me out."_

 _He looked like he was around ten years old. In fact, the kid looked a bit familiar… was he the same one from a few years ago? The same kid who bested two ultimate-class devils? A bit taller, but still the same brown hair and cold, empty eyes._

 _Issei Hyoudou._

 _"_ _Shhhh," Issei shushed when Samael let out a cry. "It hurts, yeah? Onee-san'll make you feel better."_

 _He chuckled. "Sorry, I've always wanted to say that. I feel vaguely dirty, now."_

 _Samael roared, rising on his dragon tail. He towered over the bratty child, and for good measure, Samael flexed his wings for the first time in millennia. His full aura was unleashed, causing Issei to physically recoil at the sheer strength of the hatred and anger that emanated from Samael's body. Samael had been waiting for this day. Without his restraints, he could finally seek his revenge against those who wronged him. In his excitement, the fallen angel/dragon hybrid failed to notice Issei's movement until it was too late._

 _Samael took a straight punch to the kidney. It was a hard enough blow to temporarily cause his lower body, including his dragon tail, to go completely limp. Unready for the sudden assault, Samael could only watch helplessly as Issei landed a clean, Spartan-style kick against his upper chest and sent him sprawling onto his back._

 _What happened next was a blur. Samael's arms reached out to strike the child, but he was too slow; in an instant, a strange, crimson gauntlet manifested on the boy's arm. He uttered a single word, "[Penetrate]," and motioned towards Samael's chest. There was a dull sensation of pain, and then…_

 _Samael felt strangely free._

 _For the first time in his many years of suffering, Samael could not feel the constant poison being pumped through his blood vessels. It just… wasn't there anymore. He couldn't feel his curse. It would have been the single greatest moment of Samael's life if he hadn't noticed what Issei Hyoudou held in his tiny little mortal hands._

 _Issei had torn Samael's heart out of his body._

 _The organ wasn't red; instead, the blood traveling throughout all of the chambers was a vicious shade of black. Right in the center of the heart was a massive, complicated-looking system of magical equations and enchanted runes—the source of the curse that God had placed on Samael._

 _Samael's vision began to falter. He saw the boy hold his own heart in his hands, admiring it as if it were some sort of treasure that he had just found. He knew that his long, long life was coming to a rapid and sudden end._

 _It was weird. To Samael, dying was more comfortable than being alive._

 _He supposed that he should say "thank you" to Issei for freeing him from God's curse._

 _But why?_

 _Why did he do all of this?_

 _Was he really stupid enough to—_

* * *

 **ARC I: In Search of an Angel**

* * *

Unholy Dragon of the End

 **Time for a Date at Sunset**

* * *

"Issei, you're early," Yuuma said, surprised.

Issei checked his watch: _0915._ "Don't worry, I just got here," he lied. The truth was that he arrived an hour before they were supposed to meet. Even if it was probably a fake date since Yuuma definitely had some ulterior motive, Issei wanted to treat it as if the date was real.

There was a plus side to arriving so early. He found two incredibly suspicious people handing out even more suspicious leaflets. Although they were arguing, Issei interrupted their conversation and took the two leaflets. From the faint demonic trace on them, he figured out that they were some sort of activation spell that could be used to summon a Gremory devil or a Sitri devil. He guessed that they were meant for him.

"There's a store that opened recently." His date pointed at a clothing shop down the street. "Can we go there together?"

Issei found himself looking at her current outfit. Yuuma was wearing the uniform of a school he didn't recognize. The dark red color of her jacket contrasted nicely with the pale skin of her slender neck and fingers, and the skirt was high enough to be suggestive but low enough to preserve an air of innocence around her. It seemed a bit strange to Issei that she showed up to a date on the weekend in her school uniform, but he had no complaints; as long as his date showed up looking pretty for him, why should Issei be dissatisfied?

She was very attractive. If Issei didn't know better, he'd probably be smitten with her at this point. But Crom Cruach would roast the living hell out of him if Issei let himself be seduced by a low-ranking fallen angel.

"Of course," Issei replied. He offered her a smile; although she didn't notice, it felt forced to him. "Will you let me pick something out for you?"

Yuuma's face tinged red as she nodded shyly. Issei marveled at her skill in acting.

He took her hand into his. Yuuma's hand was very small and slender, but he felt the strength in her grip. She had quite a few callouses on her hand, leading Issei to suspect that she regularly trained with some sort of melee weapon.

Issei mentally shook his head. He was sacrificing valuable time that could either be spent training or eating ice cream with Ophis. Fake or not, Issei was determined to get the most enjoyment out of this encounter as possible.

When they were in the clothing shop, Issei allowed Yuuma to model various outfits for him. In the end, he chose a dark, pure black sundress for her and bought it. He purchased that particular dress for a few reasons: one, the black contrasted beautifully against Yuuma's unmarked, ivory skin, two, the dress showed off her slim body quite nicely, and three, black was the stereotypical color of evil, and at this point, Issei needed every possible reminder that Yuuma posed some sort of threat to him.

On the way out of the shop, he found Yuuma staring at a bracelet. It was a simple thing, with a few gemstones embedded in a golden band. Without telling her, Issei went ahead and bought the thing. Crom Cruach was going to pitch a fit that his "hard-earned" wages were being spent this way, but Issei couldn't care less about the dent he was making in the Crescent Circle Dragon's bank account. He knew the dragon made a living by doing part-time at fast-food restaurants.

Something about the devil being a part-timer influenced him.

As the two sat down for lunch in a family restaurant, Issei presented his gift to her. When Yuuma was done with her order, Issei took her wrist and gently attached it around her. There was a brief moment when the fallen angel flinched, but Yuuma instantly relaxed when she noticed the present.

Yuuma marveled at the bracelet. "You really didn't have to."

"It's fine," Issei assured, "it's to commemorate our first date. Hopefully, it won't be our last one, right?"

Although he said this with a smile, Issei watched Yuuma's reaction intently. Her slight hesitation, when she told him it was the first of many, did not go unnoticed. Issei wondered if he could break her act and see what type of person Yuuma really was.

"Plus, I bought it since I thought it'd look good on you," he shuffled, pretending to be embarrassed. "It reminded me of those bracelets some of those religious girls wear in town. You know, the ones with the crosses and everything."

"Yeah," Yuuma agreed, "I've seen those around. To be honest, I just liked the colors on this one. Thank you so much!"

 _Oh, have you really?_ Issei thought, suppressing a grin. _In all of my years alive, I have yet to see a single person with a cross on their bracelet._

Issei continued, "About that… Yuuma, are you religious or anything?"

She stayed silent, and Issei briefly had a moment where he thought he overdid his questioning. His worries were subdued when she said, "Not particularly. I used to be Catholic, but I'm just nonreligious now. How about you?"

"Me?" Issei said the first thing that came to his mind. "Well, my aunt used to be a shrine priestess, so my family raised me pretty strictly in a weird blend of Shinto and Buddhist traditions." Aww, he told another ridiculous lie. Issei was getting pretty into his act, though. "I've never thought about being nonreligious, though. Was it weird, going from Catholic to nonreligious?"

Issei kept his tone curious, giving off the impression that he was just trying to be a good conversationalist. As far as he could tell, Yuuma didn't think he was suspicious, but he _did_ just ask a rather personal question.

"Ah, sorry," Issei hastily added, "that's a bit rude of me. If it's something that's too personal, then—"

"No, no, it's fine," Yuuma interrupted. "I just have to think about it for a sec."

Issei almost broke into laughter. Who was manipulating who? His sandwich arrived while a chocolate parfait arrived for Yuuma. He picked up a fork, preparing himself to eat Ophis's snake, but he immediately remembered that she wasn't present. The lack of Ophis and her cooking during lunchtime put Issei in a slightly sour mood.

Yuuma ate her chocolate parfait slowly. The way she ate it, with her delicate licks and cute sounds of satisfaction, reminded Issei of the seductive nature of fallen angels. To purify his mind of incoming perverted thoughts, Issei thought about Ophis—sweet, pure, innocent Ophis.

Ah.

"I guess I just became disillusioned," Yuuma suddenly said, breaking Issei out of his reverie. "Being Catholic was nice and everything, but there were too many… rules. I couldn't keep up with all of them."

Despite the fact that she had a spoon, Yuuma dipped her finger in her parfait and licked it clean. Issei focused on his sandwich to distract himself from the sight.

"I felt out of place in the midst of all of those devout Catholics. I didn't like the feeling, Issei," she addressed him directly, resting her chin on her hands, "the feeling when some higher-up tells you that you should be like this person or that person since they're 'better' people than you."

Issei thought carefully about her words before deliberately drawing the wrong conclusion. "Wait, were you part of a convent or something?"

"Yeah, something like that," Yuuma sighed. The expression on her face was unreadable—though, if Issei had to guess, he'd say that she was disappointed that Issei was seemingly unable to grasp the meaning behind her words.

A pregnant pause developed between them. Issei took her words into consideration, but he did not believe her fully. He'd have to see what Yuuma will do in the future; after all, Issei strongly operated on the saying _actions speak louder than words_. If she kept on telling him things like this, he'd begin to sympathize with her.

"So, is that choco parfait good?"

"Mhm. Want some?"

* * *

Issei Hyoudou was on a date with a fallen angel.

 _Issei Hyoudou was on a date with a fallen angel._

 _Issei Hyoudou was on a date with a fallen angel._

 ** _Issei Hyoudou was on a date with a fallen angel._** ** _Issei Hyoudou was on a date with a fallen angel. Issei Hyoudou was on a date with a fallen angel._** ** _Issei Hyoudou was on a date with fallen angel. Issei Hyoudou was on a date with a fallen angel._** ** _Issei Hyoudou was on a date with a fallen angel. Issei Hyoudou was on a date with a fallen angel._** ** _Issei Hyoudou was on a date with a fallen angel. Issei Hyoudou was on a date with a fallen angel._** ** _Issei Hyoudou was on a date with a fallEN ANGEL—_**

Gabriel took three deep breaths.

She didn't know what a "date" entails. But the Seraph just watched the fallen angel spoon feed Issei a bit of her chocolate dish. Her mouth had been on the spoon, and now Issei's mouth had also been on the spoon. By the transitive property of congruence, Gabriel logically came to the conclusion that they had shared an indirect kiss.

Hooooo, boy. She committed the image of the fallen angel to memory for… future reference.

"Griselda," Gabriel said gently, beckoning towards the exorcist. Griselda Quarta come forward at the angel's call. "I'm going to describe something to you. Can you tell me what it is?"

"Of course," the woman said.

"It's an emotion that I feel," the Seraph described. "It's like a wave that begins in the pit of my stomach. It surges forth with a whirlwind of strong emotions, building up within my entire body."

Griselda Quarta swallowed thickly. Gabriel was one of the most naive, purest beings the exorcist had ever met in her life. The Seraph contained nothing but love and kindness for others. It surprised her immensely that the angel was capable of feeling any sort of negative emotion, especially this one.

"It is jealousy, milady," Griselda informed the angel.

Gabriel blinked. She processed the information and put a label on the emotion she was feeling: _jealousy_. Without a doubt, she was jealous of the fallen angel being on a date with Issei Hyoudou. The strength and negativity of the emotion suddenly made sense to her. It was the lesser form of envy, a cardinal sin.

"Is it unpleasant?" the exorcist asked carefully.

The Seraph thought for a short period of time. She meticulously combed through her own thoughts, determining her beliefs on the matter. This careful, deliberate process was vital to ensure that her feelings and emotions were as pure and true to herself as possible. If her thoughts had anything less than pure intentions, Gabriel could fall.

"No," Gabriel said finally, "it is quite pleasant. Now I have learned something important."

Griselda raised an eyebrow. "What have you learned?"

"Jealousy feels negative. I won't deny that, but in its entirety, the purpose jealousy serves is positive: it merely reminds us that we are in love," Gabriel concluded. "For any other purpose, the emotion is not jealousy—it is _envy_."

The other woman nodded at the wisdom of the Seraph before suddenly realizing something important in her words. "Wait, _in love_? Did you say that? Are you in love, milady?"

"Of course I am," Gabriel smiled cryptically, "I love all of humanity."

But now Gabriel could differentiate between platonic love and romantic love. She loved many things platonically; she loved Michael, Uriel, and the other angels in Heaven, she loved the people on the earth, and through her love, Gabriel was kind. But romantic love, on the other hand, was only reserved for one person: Issei Hyoudou.

Gabriel could separate romantic love from platonic love on the simple basis that romantic love hurt. It brought her unforgiving emotions she had never felt before, but instead of being frightened by it, Gabriel fully embraced every sensation she felt. All of these new experiences made her grow as an angel… but a small bit of Gabriel wanted more. A small bit of Gabriel wanted Issei's attention to only be on _her_. In order to remain a pure angel, Gabriel knew she had to keep that part of her in check.

She remembered the words Issei had said to her when they had first met: _thank you… thank you… thank you…_

 _No_ , Gabriel thought, _thank_ you, _Issei._

 _You've become so precious to me._

* * *

"I like your name," Issei mentioned off-handedly. "Yuuma. It means 'setting sun', right?"

She seemed taken aback by his question, but Yuuma recovered and nodded swiftly.

"It's a pretty name."

They sat at the base of a water fountain. Issei gazed at the setting sun, marveling at the brilliant colors in the sky. It felt wrong watching the sunset with someone who wasn't Ophis, but Issei resolved to make up for that sin later and conclude his date with Yuuma first. Despite her being a fallen angel, she made no move to attack and consistently kept up her personality.

Issei had been playing with an idea for the past few hours while on his date. What if Yuuma was just a fallen angel who genuinely fell in love with him? No ulterior motives, no evil plan, just an innocent fallen angel who liked him and wanted to date him. He was constantly paranoid of being discovered due to going to such great lengths to conceal his aura, and that fact may have twisted his perception of Yuuma.

But, if she was innocent, why would Yuuma lead him into a sound-proof barrier? Issei noticed it immediately when he followed his date to a deserted area around a water fountain. He passed through a few seals which blocked any sound or aura from going in or out. Issei hoped that she wasn't foolish enough to try and attack him in this barrier.

A gust of wind blew by. He patted down his back pocket to make sure the two leaflets from the devils didn't slip out.

Issei turned to see Yuuma looking at him intently. Her face looked lovely in the dying light, her sharp cheekbones being accented by the shadow cast by the sun. Very slowly, she brought her head closer to his; she was so close that Issei could smell the faint scent of lavender wafting from her hair. She took a deep breath as if she were resolving herself to something.

Breathily, she asked, "Issei, there is something I want to do to celebrate our first day. Can you listen to my wish?"

She was close. If it were any other boy, he would be completely enamored with her, and the only thing on his mind would be how small and kissable Yuuma's lips looked. But Issei was a different type of boy—he liked to entertain his dirty thoughts, yes, but above that he was damn dragon and a wickedly observant one at that. He noticed how her left arm touched his shoulder to distract him from seeing her right arm cock backwards. The muscles in her forearm flexed slightly.

Issei was a tad bit disappointed.

"Sure," he said, deciding to play along with Yuuma. "What is it?"

"Will…" she hesitated for a second, "you die for me?"

Issei feigned ignorance. "I'm sorry? I didn't hear you."

Yuuma seemed confused. "I-I said," she cleared her throat, "will you die for me?" Her voice sounded ominous. Issei liked to imagine what the situation would be like if it were an ordinary human in his shoes—the poor kid would probably be freaking out right about now.

"Sure. Without a second thought."

An ugly expression came over Yuuma's face. She backed away, laughing lowly. All of a sudden, two black, feathery wings burst from her back, unveiling her true form. Along with that, her black sundress was torn to pieces and replaced with something else—

 _Holy shit_ , Issei thought, _what is that outfit?_

Yuuma stood in front of him in a very… stripperific outfit. It certainly left little to the imagination. On her shoulder sat a very interesting piece of armor with multiple protruding spikes, and her womanly parts were only covered by pretty much a _string_ of cloth. Not that Issei was complaining, though. In her true fallen angel form, Yuuma turned from a pretty girl with a slender body to a bombshell of a woman with alarmingly curvy features.

She manifested a bright spear of light in her palm. "Then please, die for—"

"Aw," Issei noted, "Yuuma, you shredded that dress I bought for you."

" _Arghh!_ " the fallen angel growled, pulling at her hair. "Read the situation, will you? My name isn't Yuuma, it's Raynare! I'm about to kill you! You're going to die!"

The boy began to thoroughly enjoy himself. "I'm sorry, I'm going to die?" Issei stood up, squaring his shoulders. A dangerous smile twisted Issei's face.

For a moment, Issei's utter confidence made Raynare falter. Not many people were capable of producing such an unnerving expression. She steeled her nerves and said, "Yes. You are going to die."

"That's unfortunate." Then, as a bit of a jab, Issei added, "Perhaps killing me will make some higher-up value you a bit more?"

With a yell of rage, Raynare threw her spear of light forward. Any mortal, she knew, would instantly be sliced open. The weapon would then dissipate, leaving behind no evidence. Just in case he managed to avoid the attack, Raynare prepared a contingency plan—the entire fountain area was covered by seals to prevent sound from escaping. She could make as much noise as she wanted when killing him.

She watched the spear travel through the air. Its path was straight and true, heading right at Issei's heart. Raynare prepared herself for the crunch of Issei's sternum being smashed and his heart being pierced, but that sound never came.

Issei stepped to the right. The movement was so quick that Raynare's mind didn't even register it until her spear smashed into a streetlight, scattering into millions of tiny white shards. Slightly shocked, Raynare produced six spears and didn't even bother with a showy throw. Directly, she sent the spears flying in Issei's direction, only for him to suddenly disappear and—

Raynare felt his warm breath on the base of her neck. Panicked, she gave her wings a quick flap and pushed off of the ground, entering the air. Somehow, the boy had gotten behind her in one, fluid motion.

Issei frowned. It seemed that he underestimated the fallen angel. If she could make all of those spears, then she wasn't as weak as he thought she was. Still, Raynare wasn't a strong opponent, and Issei was beginning to lose interest.

Without waiting, Issei leapt into the air and grabbed Raynare's ankle. Using minimal effort, he gave it a quick pull and sent the fallen angel tumbling into the ground and smashed her into the hard pavement. He paused for a moment and allowed Raynare to get on her feet before advancing.

Sensing the imminent threat, Raynare created a spear of light and wildly stabbed forward. Issei shifted his body weight to his right foot and knocked her attack away with his left arm, pivoting his stance and delivering a quick, straight punch right into Raynare's rib cage using his right fist. Although he held quite a bit of power back from the attack, his blow still produced a vicious-sounding _crunch_ , sending Raynare toppling onto her side and rolling on the ground.

Issei grimaced. Raynare definitely had a few broken ribs.

She struggled to get back up but Issei put his heel on her throat, making sure to keep one of her wings squashed with his other foot. Almost pitifully, Raynare tried to manifest more spears of light, but Issei easily dissuaded her from that by applying more pressure onto her windpipe.

Issei took a look at Raynare's eyes. They were wide open with fear. Her hands, which he once delicately held, shook and uselessly clawed at Issei's legs. Cold sweat formed and gathered on her brow.

He contemplated whether or not he should just crush her windpipe right there and then. It would be incredibly easy to end her life.

No matter how hard she tried, Raynare would never be able to kill him. Sure, she might be able to land a sneak attack on him and manage to wound him, but it would take a lot more than some spears of light to do lasting damage to Issei. On the other hand, Issei could kill her on a whim.

Personally, Issei was fine with killing Raynare. It wouldn't be the first time Issei crushed someone's neck. He knew that Ophis and Crom Cruach would probably approve of his actions since she attacked him in the first place, and if any more fallen angels came after him for killing one of their own, he could tell them that he acted in self-defense to avoid any conflict.

But a nagging memory peeked in the corner of his mind.

 _"_ _Why kill you," a kind, beautiful blonde had murmured, "when I could save you?"_

 _Instead of killing him on the spot, she knelt down and embraced him, enveloping him in her beautiful, white wings—_

Issei froze up.

 _Partner_ , Ddraig said, concerned, _is there something wrong? You nearly lost control over the third seal._

 _No,_ Issei thought. _Just remembered something._

He'd once been in Raynare's position. Caught up in something that was far beyond his capabilities, he was on the brink of death. He was completely cornered by her—a blonde woman clad in white, golden armor. But instead of killing him, she embraced him, offering not death but salvation. While she could have easily ended his life, she decided to take the harder path and save him.

Issei wanted to find her so, so badly. He wanted to find the angel who had saved him.

"I could kill you right now," he drawled, putting on a nonchalant air. Raynare's eyes widened, tearing up slightly. She tried to protest, but the sound came out as a high-pitched squeak. "But you humored me for a day, so I'll give you a choice."

He stepped gingerly off of her body, making sure to avoid stomping on the fallen angel by accident. The moment he got off, Raynare spluttered, gasping for air, and her hands found her own throat, massaging the spot where Issei's foot pressed down against her trachea. He took a relaxed seat on the fountain opposite of her.

Thanks to her lack of decent clothing, Issei saw the muscles in her leg tighten. With a sigh, Issei decided to risk it and carefully drew a carefully measured, miniscule amount of power from deep within him beyond the seal. He felt his stomach grow pleasantly warm; his eyes glowed crimson red for a brief moment.

When Raynare ran for it, Issei let out a short blast of fire from his mouth. The flames purposefully missed her by a good few feet, but the plume of fire shot by her quickly and went twenty or so feet beyond her. The immense heat, even at a fair distance away, managed to burn a side of her body, and when the fire struck a light pole and dissipated, the metal completely melted away.

Raynare's mind took a moment to register what just happened. Her feet froze to the ground as if she'd just stepped on wet concrete. Almost mechanically, Raynare turned around and found Issei staring at her, wearing a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Still feel like running?" he asked. "You know, that barrier you put up works both ways. I could spend my sweet time roasting you to death and no one would know a thing. _Or_ , alternatively, you could take a seat and listen to what I have to say."

Issei eyed the fallen angel before him. Her legs trembled as she sat down on the ground before him—she probably knew that she had no chance of outrunning his flames. Somehow, watching Raynare shiver under his gaze reminded him of a small, adorable rabbit being trapped by a fox. It was interesting to see just how afraid she was of dying.

"So, Raynare, I believe that some reintroductions are in order. Tell me: who are you? Who do you work for?"

With every word she spoke, it seemed like Raynare was in pain. Her arms were subconsciously clutching the side of her body where Issei landed a punch, signaling to him that her ribs were most definitely broken. Gritting her teeth, the fallen angel said, "My name is Raynare, and I work for the Grigori."

 _Not a part of the Khaos Brigade,_ Issei noted. _The Grigori's just a fallen angel organization._

"Are you going to need treatment for that?" Issei gestured towards her ribs. "Or do fallen angels heal on their own?"

"It should heal on its own in a few days," Raynare responded.

"Excellent," Issei said. "Now spill everything."

With careful prodding from Issei, he learned from Raynare that there were a group of fallen angels stationed at an abandoned church nearby in the city. The group was a branch of Grigori consisting of Raynare and three other fallen angels named Kalawarner, Mittelt, and their supervisor, Dohnaseek. They were also allied with a stray exorcist called Freed Sellzen, and their primary purpose was to steal Sacred Gears. At the moment, they were trying to steal the Sacred Gears of two people: [Twilight Healing] from an Italian witch, Asia Argento, and Issei's Sacred Gear.

"My Sacred Gear?" Issei wondered, slightly curious. "What did this Dohnaseek person tell you mine was?"

"We all guessed that you had [Twice Critical]."

Issei held back a bit of laughter. He almost felt bad for Raynare—instead of having the relatively common Sacred Gear [Twice Critical], Issei possessed the Longinus [Boosted Gear]. But that was a bit of information that Raynare didn't need to know.

"Unfortunately for you, your guess was a bit off," Issei informed her. "Where is [Twilight Healing]?"

The fallen angel told him everything she knew. Apparently, Asia Argento was supposed to arrive in Japan on Wednesday around noon and stay with the fallen angels. An idea began to formulate in Issei's mind, but it was risky. If he further involved himself in the complicated relationship between the biblical factions, he could eventually get entangled in a huge mess. The only reason, Issei saw, to even involve himself was quite simple: by drawing together the fallen angels and devils, the angels were bound to eventually make an appearance.

If the angels appeared, Issei might be able find her—the blonde angel who had saved him.

"When she arrives in the city, direct her to Kuoh Academy. I'm sure you know where that is."

Raynare nodded.

"If she doesn't show up at the school gates," Issei warned, lowering the pitch of his voice, "and I'll know if she doesn't show up, I'm going to burn _everyone_ in that little church of yours _._ Don't even try sending more people after me. Underestimating me will be the last thing you'll ever do, Raynare."

He reflected on his words for a brief moment and decided to add, "I would prefer not to kill you, but _don't force my hand_."

The warning got through to Raynare. She said, "When Asia arrives in Japan, I'll send her to Kuoh Academy."

"Good. You should be careful—there are devils in Kuoh Academy. I'm sure you know that, though." Issei stood up from his seat on the edge of the water fountain and helped Raynare up. Although he was still wary of a sudden spear of light manifesting behind him, the expected attack never came. "If you help me out like this, I might help you out in the future."

Raynare hissed in pain as she stood. Already, Issei could see a large, purple bruise forming on the left side of her chest. Without a single word, he took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders to give her some cover from the incoming cold. The sun had already dipped beyond the horizon; Issei found the dark, twilight sky to be quite comforting.

"It's a shame our date had to end like this," Issei lamented. "I quite liked Yuuma."

A myriad of emotions flickered through Raynare's expressions, the most obvious of them being surprise, embarrassment, fear, and a little bit of something else. Though she was clearly unhappy at being put into this situation, she was glad to be alive. While he didn't trust her word to deliver Asia Argento to him, Issei trusted her fear of death to coerce Raynare into following his instructions.

He made a grandiose gesture with his arm. "You can leave now, if you want. Do what I said, and everything will work out fine."

Raynare was about to turn her back and flee, but she stopped mid-turn and hesitated. Her violet eyes flickered with fear. "You're… not going to kill me?"

"Of course not." Issei smiled. The expression did not reach his eyes. "You should leave before I change my mind, _Raynare_."

As she scampered away, Issei had to use all of his willpower not to watch the sway of Raynare's poorly-covered butt or the rhythmic movement of her smooth, toned legs. She was literally wearing a thong, though, and her ivory-colored skin really contrasted against the darkening surroundings, so that task was easier said than done.

If he ever had a real conversation with her again, Issei would definitely lecture her on clothing choice.

* * *

Ophis sat, bored, at a round table in a dimly lit room. Crom Cruach was seated beside her, trying his best to read through the pages of a small book written in a foreign language. Both of them were not listening to the heated debate going on right next to them.

"Ophis," a man with long, brown hair called. His name was Shalba Beelzebub, a descendant of the original Beelzebub, but he was a pussy anyways—erh, Shalba Beelzebub was also a leader of the Khaos Brigade's Old Satan Faction. "What is your belief on this?"

"This room is too dark," Ophis observed languidly, resting her chin on her palm.

"Well, I guess I see your point… the electricity bill's pretty high in this complex…" Shalba murmured, "but I was talking about our plan to cause a war between the fallen angels, angels, and demons."

The Infinite Dragon God blinked at him. "And I was talking about how dark this room was. Your point is…"

Katerea Leviathan, another leader of the Old Satan Faction, cleared her throat. "Ophis, we were planning on helping the fallen angel cadre Kokabiel provoke the current demons and angels into war. During the fighting, we can use this opportunity and take control of the Underworld with the support of magicians from Nilrem. The Hero Faction can also send in their Sacred Gear wielders during battle to help them achieve Balance Breaker. Every faction in the Khaos Brigade benefits."

"Aww Leviathan-chan," cooed a silver-haired man from the corner of the room, "didn't you forget about something? How does Qlippoth benefit from this little plan of yours?"

"Qlippoth does nothing except fuck around with vampires all day," Katerea snapped.

The man stood up from his seat, a dangerous grin appearing on his face. "Watch your tone, _Katerea_. Don't forget who you're speaking to."

"The useless son of the original Maou Lucifer," the woman shot back. "I'm not afraid of you, Rizevim."

Before the situation could escalate, a black-haired human slammed his fist down on the table. Katerea Leviathan and Rizevim Livan Lucifer's heads snapped in the direction of the sudden noise. "Stop this nonsense!" Cao Cao demanded.

The tension in the air dissipated. Though both of the them were prideful, Katerea and Rizevim better than to mess with the mortal—Cao Cao possessed the [True Longinus], a holy weapon capable of killing demons without any difficulty. The two sat back down, redirecting their attention to Ophis.

"So, Ophis," Shalba started again, "what do you think? Will you help us out—"

Without even bothering to speak, Ophis created around four dozen snakes of raw power with a wave of her hand. The writhing creatures smacked against the floor, where they were hurriedly gathered by the other beings in the room. Ophis watched all of them with the utmost disinterest.

"Great Red," Ophis said out of nowhere. The other demons in the room froze at the mention of the True Dragon God. In her usual style of speaking without a shift in tone, she asked, "When will he be defeated."

"A-Ah, right." Katerea Leviathan quickly combed her mind. "When we have control over the Underworld, we should be able to amass enough power and energy to open the Dragon Gate and summon Great Red."

Crom Cruach snickered beside Ophis. "You think that you'll have enough power to open the Dragon Gate and _force_ Great Red through it? That's laughable at best. I could sacrifice all of my power and I still wouldn't be able to do that. The sheer power required to summon Great Red could drain an entire mythological faction of all its power."

Being forced to attend these boring meetings really grated on the Crescent Circle Dragon's nerves, and he decided to seek catharsis by tearing Katerea Leviathan's idea to shreds. "Let's say, hypothetically, that you succeed in summoning Great Red. After that, what would you do? Ophis is returned to the Dimensional Gap, but Great Red is alive on earth. Good luck trying to establish your own world with a pissed off Great Red rampaging everywhere. No, the only way to do this is to _enter_ the Dimensional Gap and defeat, seal, or kill Great Red. No summoning. Go there and fight him yourself."

"See? This is where Qlippoth comes in~" Rizevim sang. "We unseal 666-kun, use the Sephiroth Graal to create an army of Evil Dragons, go to the Dimensional Gap and fuck up Great Red! Ophis-chan gets to return to the Dimensional Gap, and I get free reign to do whatever I want to this world!"

"I want to make this clear," Cao Cao said, "the Hero Faction's goals are not to take over the world or plunge it into chaos. Our goal is to return Ophis to the Dimensional Gap and rid the world of anything not human. If you think we're going to allow demons to gain control, you're dreaming. While we may be working together now, in the end, we will be enemies."

"Then what are you doing in the Khaos Brigade?" Shalba Beelzebub asked.

The mortal man smiled curtly. "We need to get stronger. We need to activate more Balance Breakers and we need Ophis's power. When we are strong and you all are weak from infighting, humanity will wage its war and cleanse the Earth."

"How brave of you to reveal your plan like that."

"I see no harm in making my intentions clear," Cao Cao admitted. "I want to see what the limits of human capabilities are. If you tried to get rid of my faction now, you'd all be shooting yourselves in the foot. What would Qlippoth or the Old Satan Faction do without our support? You'd lose over half of your fighting force. Plus, there's this thing in a story called exposition, and—"

"Fuckgnards," Shalba cussed, but everyone knew Cao Cao was right. Regardless of what his intentions were, both factions relied upon the Hero Faction for powerful fighters and support. They would be crippled if Cao Cao decided to withdraw his support. "So you would help Rizevim unseal Trihexa? Don't you know how many people would die?"

"Humans can only become stronger through adversity," Cao Cao said with an air of finality. "To reach that end, I would willingly embrace any foe."

"You're insane," the descendant of Beelzebub accused. He pointed a finger at the human. "Oi. Ooooi. This guy's certifiably insane."

With a derisive snort, Crom Cruach muttered under his breath, "Like you're one to talk."

Crom Cruach noted that among the faction leaders in the room—Cao Cao, Shalba Beelzebub, Katerea Leviathan, the napping Creuserey Asmodeus, and Rizevim Livan Lucifer—none of them were marginally sane people. They all had their own, varying degrees of delusions and insanity, and one of the craziest people he knew didn't even bother attending the meeting: Vali Lucifer, wielder of [Divine Dividing] and Rizevim's grandson. That guy lived and breathed the word _fighting_.

Well, if Crom Cruach was being honest, Vali was just like himself.

"I don't care how it gets done. Just get it done," Ophis said simply. As she stood up, her action was halted by Rizevim chuckling.

"Ophis-chan, are you sure about that?" He narrowed his eyes. "Don't you have a special little boy that you're protecting? Ne, ne, when will you let us all meet Hyoudou-kun?"

Instantly, the atmosphere in the room became suffocating. Creuserey Asmodeus, the third leader of the Old Satan Faction, lost his breath and suddenly woke up, gasping for air. There was a distinct feeling of being crushed underneath a million boulders, as if the air pressure suddenly increased to insane levels. It became difficult to even do the most basic things like move or breathe.

Rizevim Livan Lucifer held up his hands. "O-Ophis-sama, I didn't mean anything bad. Please pardon this bad, little devil for his mistakes."

Ophis controlled her aura so that it completely disappeared and the suffocating feeling faded away. Instead of being angry at Rizevim, after his words, Ophis was just a bit uncomfortable with the tone he used when he called himself a _bad, little devil_. Without another word, she strode out of the door with Crom Cruach in tow, informally ending the Khaos Brigade's meeting.

As she exited the rundown apartment—yes, the leaders of the Khaos Brigade were all meeting in Shalba Beelzebub's crappy abode in the human world—Crom Cruach asked her a question that had been bugging him for a fair amount of time.

"Ophis, are you sure you still wish to support the Khaos Brigade? With what those people are planning to do, there's a chance that Issei could get hurt." _Not that I give a damn if that brat gets hurt,_ he added mentally in his mind. Even when Issei wasn't around, Crom Cruach couldn't afford having other people think that he cared about the stupid mortal.

She turned into an alleyway, and when Crom Cruach followed her, he found the Infinite Dragon God staring at him. When he looked into her grey eyes, even Crom Cruach had the helpless feeling of staring at something infinitely bigger than he was—something that could crush him on a whim, an endless abyss.

She asked him a question, "Do you have a dream." The lack of inflection in her sentence caused Crom Cruach to mentally put a _question mark_ at the end of her words.

Crom Cruach faltered. He thought for a brief moment, finally saying, "At the end, I want to see the place where dragons will reach." He was like Cao Cao in that regard; while the human wanted to see how far humanity could go, Crom Cruach wanted to see, at the end of the world, where the dragons would be.

Ophis nodded in satisfaction. "My dream was to return to the Dimensional Gap. Now, it is different. I still want to return to my home, but…"

She looked up at Crom Cruach, and a sweet, gentle smile graced her features. "That would be meaningless if I didn't return with Issei."

Somewhere hidden deep, deep within him, a bit of Crom Cruach's ice cold heart melted. He wondered if this was what people considered _moe_ these days. Something about the strange juxtaposition between being a seven year old girl and being an ancient dragon must have been appealing to Issei. The Crescent Circle Dragon was just unnerved whenever Ophis did anything worthy of being deemed "cute."

"For that dream of mine," Ophis said quietly, "I will support the Khaos Brigade. I don't care what they do to this earth as long as they are the ones who take care of Great Red."

If Issei's body was hurt or destroyed as a consequence of the Khaos Brigade's actions, Ophis knew that he could still be revived. The damage could be reversed. But if he fought Great Red, the dragon's attacks were strong enough to tear through a person's physical and spiritual body. If he died in the Dimensional Gap, the fragments of his soul would be scattered and subsequently destroyed by the nothingness of the Dimensional Gap, and Issei Hyoudou would be lost forever.

It didn't matter to her what the Khaos Brigade did with their power. Take control of the Underworld? Test humanity? Unseal Trihexa and unleash chaos? Ophis couldn't care less. Those things didn't pose a major threat to Issei Hyoudou. Let the members of the Khaos Brigade die killing or sealing Great Red instead of him.

"And if they attack Issei?"

"Issei will destroy them," she stated with the utmost confidence. "But Great Red…"

She didn't have to finish her sentence. Crom Cruach understood what she was going to say: _If Issei fought Great Red, he would most likely die._ That was what Ophis thought and what she desperately feared the most. For her, she would rather empower the members of the Khaos Brigade so they could get rid of Great Red than risk having Issei lose his life fighting against the True Dragon God.

"I would sacrifice this whole world," Ophis admitted, "to return to the Dimensional Gap with Issei."

With those words, Crom Cruach finally understood just how deeply Ophis loved Issei Hyoudou. Once again, he attempted to fathom just what event had brought them together.

"He knows about the Khaos Brigade, right?" Crom Cruach asked.

Ophis answered tersely, "Yes."

"Have you thought about asking him to join?" he ventured, testing an idea of his. "With the backing of an entire organization, maybe he could—"

"That would not be possible," Ophis said shortly.

Slightly surprised at being denied so quickly, the Crescent Circle Dragon said, "What? Why?"

She revealed, "Issei despises the people in the Khaos Brigade."

Crom Cruach was stunned into silence. Ophis elaborated. "Did you know that Andromalius Beelzebub and Malthus Leviathan were once a part of the Khaos Brigade."

 _Andromalius and Malthus?_ Crom Cruach thought for a quick bit before realizing who those people were. Andromalius and Malthus were the fathers of Shalba Beelzebub and Katerea Leviathan, respectively. "I did not."

Ophis nodded, expecting his words. "They used to be the leaders of the Old Satan Faction until they died about a decade ago."

"They did?" Crom Cruach shook his head, trying to get his thoughts back on track. "Wait, what does Andromalius Beelzebub and Malthus Leviathan have to do with Issei?"

"Issei killed them when he was seven."

The Evil Dragon was stunned into silence.

Ophis's face morphed back into her usual, expressionless façade, but the words she chose were careful and deliberate. "This was when I first met Issei. Due to Andromalius and Malthus, Issei's parents… aren't around anymore."

Crom Cruach knew that Issei was an orphan, but he never suspected that he lost his parents to an act of violence caused by the supernatural—especially an act of violence connected to the Khaos Brigade.

"They were trying to use Samael to steal my power," Ophis told him. "Issei saw and… what happened next is not my story to tell."

He absorbed Ophis's words, trying to piece together everything he knew. Dimly, an outline formed, but bits of the puzzle still remained out of sight. _Just how_ , Crom Cruach wondered, _did Issei manage to kill two ultimate-class devils before Ddraig awakened? He must've been an ordinary child at that point._

"There's another reason that Issei would never join the Khaos Brigade," the Infinite Dragon God continued. "He doesn't like the idea of relying on a team of people."

Crom Cruach opened his mouth to ask her more, but Ophis turned her back to him, signifying the end of their conversation. Using a complicated algorithm, Ophis activated a magic circle, opening up a portal back to Issei's residence. Without bothering to see if Crom Cruach followed her, she stepped through.

The dragon stood there for a moment, wondering about what powers Issei Hyoudou truly possessed.

He wielded the [Boosted Gear] and his body was afflicted by Samael's curse, but beyond that, Crom Cruach wasn't entirely sure what other abilities Issei had. In all of his spars against the brat, Issei refrained from using any power, focusing to work on pure technique even if it meant being defeated by Crom Cruach's sheer power. And, as much as Crom Cruach hated to admit it, the boy's technical skill in hand-to-hand combat was slowly growing to become unparalleled. Issei did not know fancy moves that martial artists would use; his prowess laid in his ability to read the movement of his opponent and respond in kind, using nothing but instinct.

The boy fought like a true dragon, using only strength, skill, and his own fire—nothing special or complicated like magic. It probably made Ddraig infinitely proud. He was loath to admit it, but Crom Cruach was a bit proud of Issei's progress, too. It was in a dragon's nature to be proud and vain, after all.

Crom Cruach recalled Issei once mentioning that he hid his aura by sealing his power in four different levels within him. Unsealing the first seal unlocked Ddraig and the [Boosted Gear] and the second seal held back Samael's curse. The third and fourth seals, however, were never mentioned by him or even hinted at.

Oh, well. Crom Cruach would wait for the day when some fool pissed Issei off to the point where he'd completely unleash himself.

* * *

Sona Sitri suddenly found herself in a room that she did not recognize.

"Oh," a boy's voice said, "that's how these things work."

She turned around on high alert only to find Issei Hyoudou sitting calmly on a chair. He looked vaguely amused. "Is this what the student council president wears in her free time?"

Sona looked down at her bare legs. She'd been lounging around at her house, so it was only natural that she was wearing loose short shorts and a random, unremarkable bra. Without responding to Issei's comment, she familiarized herself with her new location, spotting the crumpled up sheet of paper that Issei probably used to summon her. His bedroom, Sona surmised after spotting the bed in the corner of the room, was surprisingly neat and clean.

Remaining utterly calm and collected, Sona requested, "Can I have something to cover myself with? You summoned me at an awkward time." She _refused_ to become flustered in front of this stranger.

"Of course," he said, playing the role of an amicable host. Issei stood up and retrieved a t-shirt from a drawer, handing it to her. Sona slipped it on, noticing the slight scent of apples. He kept eye contact with her the entire time, never once allowing his gaze to dip towards her chest. Sona supposed that she could admire that.

Issei went and picked up something from his desk, setting a box on the ground. He sat down on the floor and opened the box, revealing a chess set, and he gestured for Sona to sit on the opposite side. "Care for a game of chess?"

"That would be lovely," Sona responded in kind, sitting down on her knees.

"Black or white?"

"Black, always."

They set up the board in silence. Sona kept a careful eye on Issei, still unsure exactly what the situation was. Surely, Issei didn't just summon her to play a game of chess, and on that matter, just exactly how much did Issei Hyoudou know? He purposefully summoned her, so Issei definitely knew that, to some extent, Sona was a devil.

Issei opened the game by moving the queenside pawn forward two spaces. Sona played the game passively, trying to get a taste of what type of chess player Issei was. As the game progressed, Issei's moves morphed into the standard Stonewall Attack, so Sona responded aggressively, taking advantage of Issei's stifled bishop on the black squares.

As the game developed in silence, Sona noticed a troubling trend. Issei had no qualms about sacrificing his pieces, so Sona currently had an advantage in numbers. However, by sacrificing his pieces, Issei had maneuvered his queen and his rooks through the newly opened lanes to launch a direct attack against her castled king. His king was also position on an unorthodox spot on the board; instead of hanging around on the back row, he had moved it up so that it was more towards the middle of the board.

"Your king is awfully exposed," Sona noted, checking it with her knight.

He countered by moving the king up another step, directly threatening to take her knight. Sona protected it by moving a pawn up. "I know, but what's the point of a king who sits on the back lines?"

"Admirable ideology like that doesn't apply to a tactical game like chess."

"Mhm," he hummed, applying pressure to her king by rapidly advancing his queen. "But it might apply to these Rating Games you devils have, no?"

Sona smiled. This whole situation had gotten a lot more interesting. "Ah, so you know. That saves me quite a bit of explaining."

"So we're getting straight to the point?" Issei raised an eyebrow.

"That's one way of doing things, yes."

The boy opposite her seemed to be enjoying the conversation that they were having. If Sona was honest with herself, she'd admit that Issei Hyoudou's company wasn't that bad. "Unfortunately, Sona Sitri, I do not plan on joining the Sitri or Gremory peerage. At all," he added for emphasis.

She sighed. "That's a shame."

"I want to make myself clear, though," Issei said. "I don't want to have a hostile relationship with you or Rias. Instead, I'd like to be friends. Help me out, and I'll help you out."

Sona adjusted her glasses, pushing the frame against the bridge of her nose. "Oh? Do you have a request? Check." The heiress plopped her knight to the right of Issei's king, threatening to end the game and simultaneously attacking Issei's queen at the same time. It was a pretty good fork, in all honesty. To continue the game, Issei would have to move his king and sacrifice his queen.

"I do, actually," he admitted. After a moment of thinking, Issei maneuvered his queen to a strange location on the board. He did nothing to save his king.

Claiming the easy victory, Sona took white's king, ending the game. "You let your king die?"

"Who said I was protecting the king?" Issei countered, pointing at his queen. "With that sacrifice, look at this—" After Sona took his king with her knight, Issei's queen had an unobstructed diagonal path straight to Sona's king. He moved his queen and gently knocked her king over.

Sona Sitri frowned. "This is still a victory for black."

"In chess, yes, it is," the boy relented. "But in a real fight, this would be a loss for both sides."

"It would be a bigger loss for white." Sona continued down this line of metaphors, as the subject of using chess as symbolism for war had always intrigued the young devil. "Though both lost their kings, black has more men standing."

"Well, considering the fact that white was unexperienced and black was a master, wouldn't taking out black's king be a victory for white no matter what the cost was?"

"Sounds like someone's making excuses," she teased, dropping the composed character she had kept. Slightly surprised at her own lack of control, Sona covered her mouth with her hand.

Issei laughed—not an explosive, uncontrollable uproar, but a reserved chuckle, as if he found what she said to be incredibly entertaining. It suddenly occurred to Sona that the entire time, Issei was carefully restraining himself, making sure to act in a polite manner. "We got slightly off topic, didn't we? I summoned you because I had a request."

Regaining her composure, Sona said, "Let's hear it then."

"In a few days," Issei began, "a foreign girl will be arriving in this city. Her name is Asia Argento. Could you enroll her in Kuoh Academy as a student?"

Sona contemplated what Issei just said. Logistically speaking, it would not be difficult for Sona to pull some strings and allow Asia Argento to transfer into Kuoh, but Sona failed to see the merit in doing so just because Issei asked her to do it.

"Ah," Issei added, "I neglected to mention that she possesses the Sacred Gear [Twilight Healing]. Do you know what that does?"

Instantly interested, Sona admitted, "No, I don't."

"[Twilight Healing] allows its user to use holy magic to heal anyone, even devils," he revealed. "Imagine having that in your peerage."

Sona immediately understood the benefits having a healer like that. With a healer in her peerage, Sona would not have to constantly worry about having enough Phoenix Tears to pass around, and it would be a definite advantage during Rating Games where a match could easily turn into a war of attrition. But still, Sona was a bit confused and wary on Issei suddenly mentioning this to her. She still had no clear grasp on just exactly _what_ Issei was or what his motives were.

"To be honest," the devil said, "this entire thing puts me more in your debt than you in mine."

"It goes both ways," Issei dismissed. "You help Asia transfer into school; you help me. I inform you of [Twilight Healing] before I tell Rias; I help you. Like I said, I'd like to be friends."

Sona wanted to make something clear. "You know that I can't exactly trust you that much, right?"

"That's good. Even if we were friends, it'd be quite a while before I started to trust you," Issei said honestly. "At this point, if I had completely earned your trust, I'd question your judgment."

He smiled, and Sona was instantly reminded of Issei's title at Kuoh Academy. While Rias and Akeno were both considered to a be a part of Kuoh Academy's Two Great Ladies, Issei shared the title _Kuoh's Prince_ with Yuuto Kiba.

Suddenly, Issei's head perked up. When Sona started to ask him what was wrong, Issei put his finger to her lips, listening intently for a sound. Although Sona couldn't hear anything, Issei definitely picked up on something. He dashed towards a sliding glass door which opened to a balcony and slid it open, motioning silently for Sona to come. She followed his directions, walking into the cool, night air.

"It looks like this meeting is being cut short," Sona said, having enough tact to keep her voice low.

Issei nodded tersely. "There's a barrier set up around this house preventing things from entering and leaving without permission. If you're going to use a magic circle to teleport, you have to fly a few houses down. Will you be fine?"

Sona closed her eyes, taking a deep breath of air. Quietly, with a controlled grace, her devil wings unfurled from her shoulder blades, tearing Issei's shirt in the back. At the girl's look of concern, Issei waved it off. He probably couldn't care less about the plain white t-shirt of his that she was wearing.

"Asia arrives on Wednesday," Issei told her, "so that gives you three days to make a decision. Whatever it is, please tell me—" He paused, quickly looking backwards. His ears probably heard something that hers didn't. "You have to go," he said urgently.

"Nice meeting you, Issei Hyoudou," Sona whispered. She felt that she owed him at least that much. "Maybe we could play chess again some other time."

"Likewise." Then, as an afterthought, he added, "I won't hold back the next time we play, Sona Sitri."

 **.:.**

When Crom Cruach burst into his room, Issei was calmly sitting on his bed, reading the light novel for _Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu_ or whatever the hell that long ass title was. He firmly believed in the Rem master race, but Crom Cruach preferred Emilia—which was understandable, Issei supposed.

"I sense a devil," the Crescent Circle Dragon said.

"And I sense a rude dragon who can't knock," Issei snarked, eying Crom Cruach.

Ophis soon appeared right behind Crom Cruach, sidestepping the man's tall frame and entering the room. Issei was instantly on his feet, rushing forward to greet her—

"Why do you smell like a devil and a fallen angel," Ophis asked him.

Issei fell to his knees in front of Ophis and pressed his forehead to the ground, prostrating himself before her. The movement was so quick and instantaneous that it created a slight afterimage in the air behind Issei. "Forgive me, Ophis, for I have sinned."

She pulled Issei up and spread her arms wide. "Hug," she requested. Issei's heartbeat suffered dangerous fluctuations, and Crom Cruach, sensing that he was about to see something that he didn't want to see, quickly retreated and disappeared from Issei's room.

Issei happily complied, wrapping the Ouroboros Dragon in his arms. He gently patted her on the top of her head. "Had a long meeting with the Khaos Brigade?"

"Yes."

"Wanna go to bed? I've had a long day, too."

"Not yet." Ophis looked up at him. "I don't want to sleep with the scent of a devil and a fallen angel on what's mine."

Flushed, Issei said, "I'll go take a shower—"

"I will go with you." She buried her face into his chest, a gesture that Issei knew was a tell-tale sign of embarrassment for Ophis. "To… scrub you clean. Remove all traces of the others from you."

 _Ohhhhh, why did I have to hear that?_ Ddraig complained, his voice resonating in Issei's mind.

* * *

"Sensei," Issei called, raising his hand, "I'm not feeling too well. Can I see the nurse?"

Without waiting for a reply, Issei barged out of class. Once out of his teacher's sight, Issei broke into a sprint, leaping down the stairs in a few short hops and making a beeline for the school's gates.

 _Raynare, you dumb—_

A confused blonde girl stood on the edge of the school's gates, peering into Kuoh Academy. She was cute, and Issei could feel a warm, almost alluring aura flow from her body. This, he knew, had nothing to do with her Sacred Gear; instead, it was something even stranger than [Twilight Healing]. It was something that could only appeal to _him_ , specifically.

Ddraig noticed it as well. He spoke only two words: _dragon tamer._

Issei shook off those thoughts. At the moment, his inexplicable attraction to Asia Argento was ignored in favor of something far more urgent and pressing.

"Raynare," Issei hissed, marching right up to her, "I told you to direct her here, not to come here yourself!"

"What was I supposed to do?" she shot back, a bit panicked at Issei suddenly advancing towards her. "Asia knows _zero_ Japanese—I had to show her the way!"

At the sound of her name, Asia turned her attention to the duo beside her. Issei took note of the prominent, silver cross that hung around her neck and the attire that she wore. A nun, possibly affiliated with the church? Then why did Raynare call her a witch? Devils, fallen angels, angels—were all of them already in the same city? If that was the case, perhaps making contact with the angels would be easier than Issei thought.

Asia shuffled her feet nervously, seemingly about to speak.

 _Ddraig, gonna need some help here_.

" _Ciao amico, non ho idea di dove sono io. È questa una scuola? Sto andando a scuola qui?"_ She spoke a long string of Italian that Issei was able to roughly translate to: "Hello friend, I have no idea where I am. Is this a school? Am I going to school here?"

" _Sì,_ " Issei responded. Although the words he thought were in Japanese, the sounds that came out of his mouth were entirely Italian. Hearing Issei speak in her own language, Asia beamed at him. " _Tenere premuto su un secondo._ " He held up a finger, asking her to give him a quick second.

As he turned around to scold Raynare for her own foolishness in not concealing herself, Issei spotted a certain red-haired girl and her peerage coming straight at them. Evidently, Raynare's fallen angel aura had triggered some sort of alarm; after all, this was the devils' turf. Whatever words he had to say to Raynare was rendered useless. Issei would have preferred it if Sona showed up since he'd actually spoken to her before, but he supposed that Rias's peerage was a bit more battle-hardened than the school president's.

"Yaaaaay, Raynare," Issei clapped sardonically, "look at this shitstorm you've just created."

"Shitstorm?" Asia repeated in Japanese, smiling innocently. She clapped along with Issei.

He asserted, "Yeah. Shitstorm."

 _It happens_ , Ddraig rumbled. _If what Crom Crotch said was true, Kokabiel and the Khaos Brigade were already planning on starting a shitstorm anyways._

At the sound of Issei's childhood nickname for Crom Cruach coming from Ddraig's mouth, he let lose a bark of laughter. Raynare, who had just begun to understand the gravity of the situation, looked at him like he was insane while Asia excitedly waved at the rapidly approaching group of people.

"Relax," Issei murmured, keeping his voice low. "Technically, you haven't done anything wrong. If we're honest, we should be fine."

Contact was established between the fallen angels and devils sooner than Issei had originally planned, but in the end, it was fine. He'd just have to see how things naturally panned out with both sides trying to recruit Asia Argento into their ranks, then make his move at an appropriate time.

Before Rias arrived, Issei noticed something peculiar on Raynare's wrist. "You kept that bracelet I bought you?"

Her violet eyes widened, and a lovely blush colored Raynare's cheeks a rosy red. "I-I just thought it was pretty, that's all."

Issei stared at her, taking in her reaction.

"You're a hell of a good actor."

* * *

 **Up next: Rias Gremory, the fallen angels, and Riser Phenex gets his ass beat. A surprise character makes her appearance a bit earlier than canon. Ravel joins harem?**

 **I hope I established Issei's relationship to the Khaos Brigade—although he knows it exists, he's firmly not a part of it. Also, Ophis only keeps the Khaos Brigade around because she wants to use them to fight Great Red instead of risking Issei's life to return to the Dimensional Gap. Issei doesn't quite know about that part, though. Also, since**

 **Andromalius Beelzebub and Malthus Leviathan aren't important characters. They just had a role in Issei's past with Ophis, that's all. Eventually, I'll dedicate a full chapter to what had happened, 'cos it'll just be an interesting thing to write.**

 **Gabriel's not full yandere yet. I'm saving that until she and Issei finally meet in person, which should be in two or three chapters (after Kokabiel's attack and the arrival of Irina and Xenovia). I'm so glad everyone liked the idea of a yandere Gabriel!**

 **Sona and Issei's chess match was more just me messing around with character relationships. Issei and Sona don't have many conversations with each other in the light novels, so I decided to have them play a game of chess. Hopefully, the way they play (Issei sacrificing the king for the queen, Sona claiming the victory when it's presented to her) sheds some light on their characters. I quite like Sona Sitri, to be honest, and to a certain degree I like Raynare as well. I'll play around with Raynare's character for a bit, since it's fun to come up with backstories and new personality traits for characters like her who don't have a lot of backstory in the original source material.**

 **Next chapter should have more fight scenes, and Issei's powers will be a bit more explored. There's been a lack of some of my favorite characters (Rias, Akeno, Koneko) in these chapters, but that'll be rectified in the next chapter. Out of those, I especially like Akeno, but Rias and Koneko are also my favorites.**

 **Serafall Leviathan, Valerie Tepes, and Le Fay Pendragon, question mark?** **I like to take my time with the girls developing feelings for Issei, but it'll be there, don't worry. It's Highschool DxD, which is pretty much synonymous with harem.**

 **Once again, lemme know how it went and what you wish to see. Thanks!**


	3. The Red Dragon Emperor Crashes a Wedding

**Happy Thanksgiving break! I'm thankful for all of you readers, especially with the 300+ favorites and follows and 70+ reviews. It's been quite a bit since I've last updated, so here it is!**

* * *

The dream must come to an end—that is Issei's final goal. This is the story leading up to that final encounter, and somewhere in between, he gets caught up in this huge mess between various mythological factions and manages to score himself a harem. Featuring an adorable Ophis, a yandere Gabriel, and a crabby Crom Cruach as a mentor. Some OOC characters. OP!Issei x Harem.

* * *

 **ARC I: In Search of an Angel**

* * *

Unholy Dragon of the End

 **The Red Dragon Emperor Crashes a Wedding**

* * *

"Heyyyyy," Issei slurred, offering as friendly a wave as he possibly could.

Two outstandingly attractive women approached his location. Kuoh Academy's Two Great Ladies, Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima, certainly did not disappoint, and they were every bit as beautiful and regal as his classmates claimed they were. Following closely behind them was Yuuto Kiba, a handsome, almost effeminate-looking boy with sandy blonde hair. Somewhere off in the distance, Issei detected the presence of another devil—

Issei blinked. It wasn't just the presence of a devil. There was something else mixed into it, something inhuman. Something too familiar for his own liking.

 _Another nekomata_ , Ddraig rumbled happily. _If she was anything like that other one~_

 _Shut up. Shut up right now. That's not something I want to remember right now._

He sneaked a peak at Raynare. Although she was in her normal, schoolgirl form, it wasn't difficult to detect the aura of a fallen angel. The _oh shit_ expression she had on her face reflected the fact that she understood just exactly how much she'd screwed up. She, a fallen angel, had just casually walked into a den of devils. On the other hand, Asia was completely oblivious to the strained atmosphere, offering Rias and her company a broad smile.

"Hello, Issei," Rias greeted him warmly. "And… who is this?"

Akeno smiled darkly. "Some prey to play with, hm?"

Issei cleared his throat. Akeno's tone of voice was scary in the sense that he was frightened for whatever innocence he had left. "Um—well, no. This is Asia Argento, a nun with a pretty special gift. I'm sure you've noticed it already. And this is Yuuma, a girl that I went on a date with once."

His trained eyes noticed the slight glare Akeno Himejima sent Raynare. However, they completely missed the furious blush that spread over the fallen angel's face.

"She's an idiot, so please forgive her on my behalf." Issei bowed.

"As long as she never shows her presence here again, I think I can allow her to leave unscathed. Our schools… don't mix well," Rias offered, amused at Issei's actions.

"Alright. That's your cue, Yuuma." With those words, Issei grabbed her shoulders and gently—sort of—shoved her out the school gates. Raynare ended up almost smacking her face against the house on the opposite side of the street.

Issei turned around and laughed awkwardly before explaining himself. "Well, she's really light, you know? Pushed her a bit too hard. Anyways…"

He pointed at Asia. "Could you guys or Sona take good care of her? The papers for her transfer into Kuoh should already have been taken care of. She may look like she's affiliated with the church, but she's been labeled as a witch and excommunicated. Do what you want with that information."

Rias nodded before turning to Asia, letting loose a string of fluent Italian. Asia's eyes widened in surprise, and an innocent smile split her cheeks. They held an animated conversation that Issei didn't bother asking Ddraig to translate.

"Well, this was a nice encounter."

As Issei began to take his leave, Asia grabbed his arm sleeve. " _Grazie_."

 _Don't thank me,_ Issei thought, suppressing a frown. _I have no idea what I just got you into._

* * *

Issei bit into the sandwich Ophis made him, mulling over recent events.

For the past few days, Issei was approached endlessly by the members of the Occult Research Club. What he managed to glean from the periodic attacks on his privacy was that, against all odds, the Gremory faction managed to recruit Asia into their ranks. While she wasn't exactly a devil yet, she was gradually growing closer and closer to the members of the club. It would only be a matter of time before she joined Rias's peerage.

At school, she was widely loved. _Who could hate her?_ Issei wondered idly to himself. Asia was kind to a fault and possessed a magnetic personality. Through some clever manipulation on Sona's behalf, Asia was placed in Issei's class, and they developed a bit of a strange relationship. In normal situations, Asia was able to speak Japanese through the use of magical power probably provided by her Sacred Gear, but when she was alone with Issei, he took the time to teach her Japanese. She understood very little about the culture, so Issei sought to rectify that.

Issei couldn't explain to himself or come up with a particular reason regarding _why_ he treated Asia with such gentleness or kindness. Maybe it was just the person that Asia reminded him of… the blonde hair, unfailingly kind attitude, all of these traits were especially compelling and enticing to him.

"Senpai is pretty reliable," a quiet voice murmured.

Issei looked up to the source of the sound: a small, petite girl with white hair. She was resting on a tree branch like a cat, and silently hopped down to take a seat next to him on the bench.

 _I guess I can't even eat my lunch in peace_ , Issei lamented. "Koneko, I've already said multiple times that I'm not joining—"

"This isn't about that," she interjected. "I've been observing Senpai for the past few days. You help Asia often, even if you serve to gain nothing from it."

"Oh? My, my," Issei grinned, "is this turning into a love confession?"

Much to his disappointment, Koneko's face remained impassive. "No. I just wanted to ask you a question."

"Shoot away." Issei could already guess what she wanted to ask, and he had a somewhat decent answer prepared for it. If she asked how Issei came to know about Asia, then he could just—

"Senpai, what are you?"

"A human," Issei answered on reflex. To give Koneko some credit, her question did surprise him. For some reason, the nekomata devil had taken some sort of personal curiosity towards him.

Koneko shook her head. "That's a lie."

Issei regarded her seriously, and the devil met his gaze evenly. She explained, "Senpai, the aura that you have is that of a human's. But your _ki…_ "

"Koneko, if you're reading my _ki_ , then I think the real question here is: what are _you_?" The boy tilted his head slightly.

The girl remained silent for a while, lightly chewing her lip. She was adorable, Issei admitted, but not nearly as adorable as Ophis was. "Rias is dancing around the topic, but I think that it'd be better to just be straightforward. The members of the Occult Research Club are all devils, like the ones from the Bible."

"I know."

Koneko blinked. Issei couldn't tell whether or not she was shocked at all; the girl kept her emotions behind a stone mask. Issei didn't know Koneko well enough to read her expression's minute changes like he could read Ophis's. "Then I guess this will be easier. Rias Gremory would like to recruit you into her peerage. That is why we have been pestering you for the past few days to join our club."

"I see." This wasn't news or surprising to Issei; after all, Rias had already made her bid to recruit him when she had a familiar or something hand him that flyer while he was on his way to meet Raynare. Koneko's method of straightforwardly asking him was refreshing compared to the coy games Rias tried playing with him. "Unfortunately, I must decline."

"I know the idea of serving another person doesn't sound good," the school mascot said earnestly, "but it's a lot of fun. Rias is a kind and caring—"

"I'm sure that she's a great master. It's nothing about that," Issei assured her. "But you should know why I can't be converted into a devil if you understand my _ki_."

"… I can't see your _ki_. That is why I believe that you're not a normal human. They are not capable of disguising their life force."

Issei looked at her. Then, Koneko saw a visible change. A particularly savage smile appeared on his face, twisting his entire expression. The girl felt _shivers_ go down her spine.

"I'm not disguising my _ki_. I just don't have any."

"That's not—" Koneko swallowed, feeling the words die in her throat. All living things in the world had _ki_ , and although Koneko had sworn off the use of senjutsu and youjutsu after that incident, she was still able to detect and examine the flow of life energy. But Issei Hyoudou, a seemingly normal human teen, _did not have any ki_. Even now, as she looked at him from up close, there was just a hole, a black space in the environment full of the flow of life.

In other words, it seemed that Issei Hyoudou did not have a soul. It was as if life just… ended within him.

"Looks like you understand why I can't become a devil," Issei said. "Not that I would have become one in the first place. On a physical level, I don't think it's possible."

Korenko just nodded. The boy continued. "But there are certainly a few things you can report to Rias. I know that this is a school full of devils. As long as they don't get in my way, I think a friendly relationship can be maintained."

Her wide, golden eyes stared up at him. Issei couldn't help but pat her on the head.

 **.:.**

One day, the constant barrages to recruit him into their club stopped.

Although the days were a lot more peaceful, Issei couldn't help but be curious about the reason for the sudden stop. Rias, Akeno, Yuuto, and Koneko were often absent from school, and he heard from other classes that a large portion of the student council was periodically absent as well. Sona, however, remained behind, presumably to watch over the school while they were gone.

 _Was there some sort of disturbance in the devil world?_ Issei wondered. While he pondered this question, he completely missed Asia tossing paper wads at him. His reflexes finally activated and he caught one that was about to hit his face, turning to his side and giving Asia a raised eyebrow. She motioned for him to open up the paper.

There was a message for him: _Can we meet on the roof during lunch break?_ The characters were incredibly messy, but Issei could tell that deliberate effort had been put into the calligraphy.

Issei gave her a short nod and Asia beamed at him in return.

When the break finally started, Issei walked with Asia to the stairs. As they ascended, Issei asked, "So, what's this about?"

Asia squirmed nervously under his gaze. "I just need some life counseling."

 _Why does that sound incredibly familiar? Why do I just remember a yandere, a brocon, and a—I should really stop watching anime everyday_.

When they arrived on the roof, both of them decided to sit next to the wall besides the door. Asia took her seat in the sun, while Issei sat down next to her in the shade. As he prepared to eat his meal, a lovely Chinese chicken salad, Asia absentmindedly gazed at the cityscape through the railing.

"Issei, if I tell you something, will you promise to believe what I say?"

"Sure." He wanted to crack some sort of joke, but two things stopped him. One, the joke would probably fly right over Asia's head, and two, her tone of voice alerted him to the fact that this was a more serious conversation.

"The people in the Occult Research Club…" Asia took a deep breath, finally stating, "they're all devils."

Almost as if she were scared of Issei's reaction, Asia took her time to turn towards him. To soothe her, Issei gave her the softest smile that he could muster. Although it felt fake, Asia seemed to visibly relax.

"Don't worry," Issei said gently. "I know. And they're trying to recruit you, correct?"

Asia's eyes widened. "How do you—"

"Sometimes, it's easier to just accept something instead of ask questions," Issei told her. "But I completely believe you. Is there something wrong?"

Asia looked like she wanted to question him further, but she accepted his words and said, "I don't know. Rias and the others have all been so kind to me and they especially need me right now, but…"

Issei supposed that this was an incredibly difficult situation for her. Even after being labeled as a witch, Asia still struck him as the type of girl that was devoutly religious. The thought of becoming an actual devil by choice was probably crazy to her.

"The way I see it is this," Issei said. "Devils aren't inherently bad by nature. Granted, some are genuinely evil, but I'm sure Rias and Sona aren't those types of devils. If you help them, you could even guide them to a path where they can really accomplish some good. But, either way, whether or not you join a peerage is a decision that you're going to have to make."

The nun remained silent. Or, that's what he thought until he saw her hands clasped together in prayer. Under her breath, she mumbled, " _so di aver violato le tue leggi e il mio peccato mi ha separato da te… mi dispiace davvero…_ "

He only managed to catch snippets of her prayer, but Issei understood the general gist of it with Ddraig's help. It was a prayer for forgiveness, and it seemed that Asia had made up her mind.

"Rias," Asia said quietly, "is fighting this despicable man named Riser Phenex in something called a Rating Game. I don't know what their history is, but all I know is that Rias was betrothed to Riser."

Hm. Issei, when Asia casted her eyes towards the ground, quickly and discreetly swallowed one of Ophis's snakes in one fluid slurp. Rias having a fiancé was news to him. Were that to spread, every boy in Kuoh Academy would have their hearts broken.

But another part of her statement surprised him. If he could recall correctly, Rating Games were controlled battles between two peerages. Rias had nowhere close to a full peerage, so she was probably at a distinct disadvantage. Issei could help them prepare by training Rias's peerage, but this matter was completely unrelated to him.

"Will you fight for her, then?"

Asia didn't answer immediately. "I can't fight. But," she smiled brightly at him, "I can heal those that do."

In a firmer voice, she said, "Rias gave me a home to live in, a school to attend, and a second family. If I stood by and did nothing as she's forced to do something she doesn't want to do, what type of person would I be? This is the best way I could think of to repay her, and even if I have to become a devil and lose His favor, this is something that I must do."

Issei had no response to her. In all actuality, this was probably one of the better outcomes that he had predicted. Asia would be safer in a peerage of devils than if she had remained a normal human. Her Sacred Gear was too powerful and valuable to leave alone, so various factions would have started vying for her.

Of course, the best outcome would have been for Asia to somehow be reincarnated as an angel, but he had no way of contacting them. If he really wanted, Issei was sure he could start rampaging and destroy a few cities to attract their attention, but that was obviously a stupid idea. He wanted to meet _her_ on good terms.

Asia gave him an angelic smile and hugged him closely. Her body was soft beyond all measure, and her still-developing… _features_ pressed into his rib cage as she pulled Issei towards her. Despite the fact that Issei felt a bit awkward, he put her hand on her skinny back and patted her as carefully as possible. If he didn't restrict his strength, he might've seriously broken her back.

Suddenly, a crack of thunder shook the sky as if Heaven unleashed its fury. Asia squealed and leapt off of him, staring up at the sky, but there was not a single cloud in sight. Issei wondered just exactly where that clap of thunder came from.

"But," Asia suddenly said shyly, "even if I become a devil, you'll still be my friend, right?"

 _Friend_. _That doesn't sound too bad,_ Issei thought. _I guess that, somehow, we did become pretty close._ In the middle of his sentimental moment, another voice entered his head.

 _You sound like a friendless loser right now_ , Ddraig chimed in.

 _Shut up and go back to your nap._

"Yeah. That won't change," Issei promised.

* * *

"Gabriel," Griselda called, tapping the Seraph on the shoulder, "what was that?"

Heaven's strongest and most beautiful woman shrugged. "Just averting a crisis from happening, that's all."

The reincarnated angel felt a bead of sweat travel down her face as she watched the Seraph hum to herself. Her skill and power with manipulating lightning was on par with Zeus and Thor from the Greek and Norse pantheons respectively. Even though the angel looked sweet and innocent, Griselda knew that she held the title of Heaven's Strongest Woman for a reason. Her Holy Lightning was on a whole different level.

Gabriel smiled at Griselda. "Don't worry." She examined her delicate, pale hands before mercilessly cracking each knuckle. "It was nothing."

* * *

A week or two after Asia formally transferred into Kuoh Academy, she became a devil.

It wasn't anything unexpected especially after that conversation Issei had with her. He far preferred having Asia in their company than with the Fallen Angels. As he had seen with Raynare, they were not above murdering people for their Sacred Gears while Rias and Sona generally seemed to treat their peerage quite well. Plus, it was easier to keep tabs and check on the one Ddraig called _Dragon Tamer_ if she was with the devils.

Issei didn't miss the looks he'd get from Rias and Akeno, though. Whether he was out eating lunch in solitude or helping out the clubs with miscellaneous activities, Issei constantly felt their gaze upon him. Since they didn't approach him, Issei decided to let it slide.

The rhythm of his normal life was starting to return. The fallen angels were quiet and the Occult Research Club and Student Council, which Issei quickly determined was full of Sona's peerage, didn't bother him at school. In fact, all of Rias's peerage and a large portion of Sona's peerage completely stopped showing up to school, most likely to train for their upcoming Rating Game. Due to this, Issei could focus on schoolwork and training at his house. The idiots in the Khaos Brigade, according to Crom Crotch, were also in a period of inactivity.

The peace was enjoyable, but Issei knew that it wouldn't last long.

 **.:.**

"Issei Hyoudou, please come to the Student Council room. Souna Shitori would like to speak with you," Tsubaki's voice announced calmly over the intercom.

 _Ah._ Issei abruptly got up from his seat and left his classroom. When he walked down the hallway, the students he walked by greeted him cheerfully. Issei merely offered a slight tilt of his head in response, but that was enough of a gesture to get some bashful, happy smiles from his female classmates.

As he entered the room, Issei said, "Sona, I was wondering when you were going to finally—wait. When did you get a maid?"

Standing next to Sona Sitri's desk was a tall, elegant woman dressed in a French maid's outfit. Her grey hair fell to her hips in tight, neat braids, and a frilly white headband futilely attempted to keep her hair from flowing over her forehead. When she saw him enter, she curtseyed politely.

"No, she's not a maid," the stuco president corrected. "Issei Hyoudou, I would like to introduce you to Grayfia Lucifuge, the wife and queen of Sirzechs Lucifer."

Issei felt a torrent of questions pour into his mind—most prevalently just _why_ he was summoned to the Student Council room when he could easily be eating ice cream with Ophis at this time—but he ignored his desire to get answers and instead said, "Nice to meet you, Grayfia."

"Likewise," she said curtly. "I'm sorry for my intrusion. I was merely interested in this… human that Rias and Sona were both fascinated by. I take it that you understand our status as devils?"

"Yup."

"And why are you not afraid?" Grayfia asked quietly. "We are beings that could smite you on a whim." As if testing him, Grayfia flared a bit of her demonic energy, creating a shockwave of force that cracked the glass in the windows and ceiling lights. A visible, black and red aura formed around her body as she extended her wings, gathering orbs of raw demonic energy in her palms.

Well, Issei guessed that Grayfia was holding back a huge portion of her power. If she was truly a Lucifuge, Grayfia should have immense demonic power. The Lucifuge Issei knew in Qlippoth often flaunted his excessive power, and he probably had powers on par with a Satan. Perhaps Euclid Lucifuge and Grayfia Lucifuge were related, but Issei was not about to ask the older devil to clarify on her relationship with a member of the Khaos Brigade.

Issei had to give it to Grayfia. She was strong and she had control. But if a mere devil could make him cower, what type of dragon would Issei be?

The origin of Grayfia's demonstration of power was the demonic energy within her. It was like a waterfall that originated from a stream. Cut off the stream, and the waterfall disappears. All Issei had to do was carefully draw some power from the third seal and snap his fingers.

The unrelenting aura instantly vaporized into thin air. Whatever demonic energy Grayfia was gathering disappeared along with it. The queen's eyes widened, and the color in her cheeks disappeared as she staggered backwards before Issei snapped his fingers again and the rush of demonic energy flowed back into her body.

"What… just happened?" Sona asked, warily eying Issei.

Grayfia's hand tightly gripped the side of the table as if she was helping herself stay balanced. Her breathing was a bit labored and deeper than it was moments before, but besides that, her face betrayed no other exterior emotion. It reminded him a lot of Koneko, actually.

Issei grinned. He stated simply, "I am not afraid because there is nothing to be afraid about."

The queen's gaze was wary for good reason. For the first time in probably a very long time, she was completely outclassed by an opponent. Issei could hardly imagine the panic going through her mind when he effectively shut off the demonic energy in her, downgrading her from a devil to the level of a mere human.

"… if it is you, I think Sona's plan might work," she allowed.

"Oh?" Issei turned towards the slightly shaken devil. "Sona, putting me in plans I'm not aware of already?"

Sona regained her composure quickly and replied, "Well, if I recall, you owed me a favor."

"Did I? And when—"

" _If you help me out like this, I might help you out in the future_ ," Sona recited perfectly. "You said that after I defeated you in chess."

Issei scoffed. "I let you win that game."

"That's what losers say as an excuse," Sona said, amused. "Also, you haven't approached me for a rematch. I assumed that that would be the final result."

"We're rematching sometime soon," Issei declared, but then he decided to get back on topic. "But I did offer to help you out. At least tell me what the plan is."

Sona turned towards Grayfia. On cue, she said, "We wish for you to break up Rias's engagement with Riser."

"Man, this Riser guy must be a complete asshole," Issei sighed. "Nobody wants her to marry him, so why is it still a thing?"

"It was an agreement made by the patriarchs of the Gremory and Phenex House," Grayfia answered. "However, Sirzechs would rather," the woman pulled out a sticky note and read tonelessly, "chop his right foot off and eat it raw than let his adorable little sister get married to that misogynistic asshat."

Issei was speechless for a moment. "Did you… write that down? Is that a direct quote? Are you not concerned as his wife?" It was safe to say that Sirzechs Lucifer, the head honcho of the devils, was a siscon, an _extremely_ blatant siscon.

"The first thing I learned to accept was his unusual infatuation with his little sister," Grayfia said, almost perfectly reading Issei's mind. "Sona here has told me that you seem to enjoy gathering favors. If you do manage to break up the engagement, Sirzechs would owe you a huge one."

Issei mulled it over for a bit. "Well, there's a big problem here. If her fate is going to be decided by a Rating Game, I'd have to be in her peerage to be able to make any worthwhile contributions, but becoming a devil is far from my agenda. Also, I don't think I could help train any of them since I have no idea how demonic energy works."

Well, that was a lie. Issei knew very well how the different types of powers in the world worked. From Sacred Gear users, to magicians, to demons and angels, to the different martial arts, to gods, to dragons, and everything in between, Issei had at least a basic understanding of how the techniques worked and where they got their energy from.

"The plan does not involve you becoming a devil or training them," Sona cleared up. She shared a quick glance with Grayfia. "It involves you becoming a wedding crasher, though."

 _Wedding crasher._

"… go on."

"Rias's peerage is going to lose the Rating Game," Grayfia said. Issei winced a bit at the sheer bluntness with which she spoke. "Either from a difference in skill or due to a difference in numbers, it is a foregone conclusion. This is just a valiant, but futile attempt. When her peerage is defeated, the wedding ceremony will be held two days after."

"This is where you come in," Sona continued. "Sirzechs and Grayfia can arrange a challenge beforehand for Rias. Enter Riser Phenex, a pure-blood devil, and Issei Hyoudou, the self-proclaimed human. Without any reason to decline the battle and this being an excellent chance to show off his powers even further, Riser would definitely accept the challenge."

"Wait. What is wrong with devil society?" Issei asked. "Are female devils supposed to be treated like objects or something? Does Rias have no say in this?"

Grayfia shook her head. "Devils only respect and listen to strength. That is why Riser, being the stronger of the two, will get his way, and theoretically speaking, the political consequences that would occur if Sirzechs were to interfere would be far too great. We'd lose even more devils to our enemies. Our main hope is for you to defeat Riser in a one versus one battle."

Seeing Issei's doubtful expression, Grayfia added, "Sona recommended you for the job. No sane devil would outright fight a pure-blooded descendant of the Phenex Clan, and obviously we aren't going to ask any angels for help. But you… Sona said that you had power. We don't know how much, but we have no other options."

"If I were to defeat Riser," Issei clarified, "will there be any consequences for me? Will the devils despise me?"

"It depends on how you do it. If you defeated him through trickery, you will probably be despised." Grayfia said.

A twisted grin began to make its appearance on Issei's face as he began to understand Grayfia's intentions. "But devils respect strength. So if I put on a show of force…"

Grayfia nodded. "In as public a setting as this would be, you would most likely gain the respect of every devil watching, the favor of the current Maou of the Underworld, and repay your debt to Sona all at once."

Issei stayed silent from a moment. "Wow." He let loose a whistle. "You and Sona really know how to make a convincing case."

One part of Grayfia's argument particularly appealed to Issei. If he gained the favor of the current Maou of the Underworld, perhaps contact with the angel faction could be established with more ease.

"But there's just one last thing I'd like to ask." He turned towards Sona. "Why are you asking me to do this? With all of the possible favors you could've asked, why would you ask me to help someone else?"

A brief pause settled in the room. Grayfia also seemed to be curious about the answer to Issei's question. After a while of deliberation, Sona finally said, "Rias has been my friend for a long time. Ever since she was small, she's dreamed of marrying someone of her own choice, someone that she genuinely loves. It's a stupid, _stupid_ dream but it's her dream nonetheless, and it's my duty as her friend to defend that."

Then, she said something that resonated deeply within Issei.

" _Those that have power ought to help those that don't."_

Issei blinked. He wasn't sure if she was taking a potshot at him, but it was certainly applicable regardless. In this moment, Issei decided on his course of action. Before he did anything, he'd have to tell Ophis about it, and if she vetoed it, the entire plan would fall to shambles. However, Issei understood Ophis well enough to know that she'd let him fight Riser. Even Crom Crotch, who was secretly a hopeless romantic, might encourage him even further to fight for a pure maiden's heart.

As for Ddraig… perhaps in the fiery pit of Hell, a fitting stage for the Red Dragon Emperor's rise would finally appear.

* * *

Ravel Phenex stumbled around the dining hall, trying desperately to find someone that she knew.

She still walked with a slight limp since Rias's rook managed to snap her leg with a solid blow, but the Phoenix Tears were able to heal the damage quickly. However, a phantom pain still lingered for a bit and the muscles were incredibly sore, so the blonde devil tried putting as little weight on it as possible.

Her brother was standing with his prize, the beautiful Rias Gremory. Her gaze was downcast, but Riser didn't care at all. All he knew was that Rias Gremory, little sister of the Maou, was about to become his wife. She put up a pretty decent fight, but Riser had quantity over Rias's quality. When Riser took her bishop—Asia, Ravel later learned—hostage and threatened to torture her, Rias was forced to resign and forfeit the game.

Ravel didn't agree with her brother's actions, but she didn't really dare to stand up against him. For her entire life, Riser was always there and Ravel in his shadow.

As she neared their conversation, Ravel managed to get a better look at Rias's outfit. Her long, red hair perfectly matched with a tight, form-fitting red dress. Instead of looking like the teenager she was, Rias looked like a bombshell supermodel straight out of a magazine. Her peerage stood scattered around her, but Ravel could tell they were _pissed_. The bishop, poor thing, looked like she was about to break out into tears.

"Riser, my son!" Ravel's father roared, patting his son roughly on the back. "I'm so proud of you! A drink to the Gremory and the Phenex House, to my beautiful, sexy daughter-in-law and to Sirzechs!"

He was drunk. It was very obvious. But Riser declined the drink, instead stating, "Father, I will leave the drinking to after the ceremony. I'd like to be sober for what's about to happen, so I could remember _everything_."

Rias twitched at his comment, but Riser just pulled her closer, giving her a quick smack on her ass. "Don't worry, we'll produce a worthy, pure-blooded heir soon. A devil with the regeneration of the Phoenix and with the Power of Destruction… imagine that!"

It had been a while since Ravel had seen her brother smile like that—the carnal, predatory grin of a hunter. After he had pretty much filled out his peerage, Riser had grown complacent and bored of the women in it, but now, Ravel could tell that his thirst and lust had returned in full stride. Ever since he was small, Riser had everything and Ravel was there to witness all of it. He had power, fame, and women.

But Ravel didn't like that Riser. She missed the sweet Riser that played with her before he changed, before he started viewing women as objects for pleasure and as trophies. Deep inside, Ravel even hoped that Rias would have been able to defeat him and humble him, but unfortunately, that didn't happen.

 _Ding ding ding_. Ravel turned her eyes towards the top of the staircase, where a handsome man with brilliant crimson hair tapped his fork to a wine glass. Instantly, the entire dining hall became silent in respect to Sirzechs Lucifer.

"Today is a momentous day," he said clearly. "My dear little sister will be marrying into the House of Phenex!"

Applause thundered throughout the room, echoing off of the high ceiling and walls. Ravel couldn't find it within her to clap with such vigor, so she clapped once out of politeness. Out of the corner of her eye, Ravel noticed that no one in Rias's peerage even bothered moving their hands at all.

Though, Ravel noticed something strange. As Sirzechs continued talking, the smile on his face never changed. But… something was missing. It wasn't the smile of happiness, that was for sure. His wife and queen, Grayfia Lucifuge stood a few paces away from him, but her eyes never looked at him once. Instead, they were directly watching the giant set of doors that led into the dining hall.

Finally, Sirzechs said, "Before the ceremony begins, I would like to say one last thing. Should anyone here present know of any reason that this couple should not be joined, speak now or forever hold your peace."

Riser looked around, as if challenging anyone to speak. The members of Rias's peerage were about to step up and start a commotion, but they were instantly frozen by a single, sharp glance from Rias.

 _She knows that they're not a match for Riser_ , Ravel noticed sadly.

The silence sank in. Sirzechs's smile only grew wider.

"Alright, alright," Riser yelled, "nobody's saying anything, so let's just get on with—"

 _BANG!_

One of the giant doors was knocked right off of its hinges, flying forward and nearly crushing a few high-class devils before finally skidding to a stop a couple yards from the doorway. The other door violently struck the wall, attracting the attention of everyone in the room.

A shadowy figure stood in the doorway. Its leg was still raised, leading Ravel to conclude that the heavy set of doors was just knocked off of its hinges by a _single kick_.

The figure entered the dining hall, allowing the light from chandeliers to rain down upon it. The devils in the hall were so quiet that even from her location, Ravel was able to hear every footstep on the marble floor.

There was a strong collection of emotions in the hall, but the most obvious and wide-felt one was complete and absolute surprise. The reason for that was the fact that the being that just walked into the room was a _human boy_.

Although he looked plain at first, Ravel thought that, after observing him for a bit, he was quite handsome. His brown hair was slightly spiky, and despite all of his skin save for his neck and face being covered by a black, white, and red school uniform, it was obvious that he was muscular. Despite his athletic-build, there seemed to be nothing else that suggested any modicum of power. Based on his aura, he wasn't a devil, he wasn't an angel, and he wasn't even a hero… just a normal human being.

Nevertheless, when Ravel sneaked a glance at Rias's and her peerage, all of them had their mouths wide open. Rias's bishop even had tears flowing down her face.

"My name is Issei Hyoudou," he declared, "and I object to this marriage!"

Absolute silence. Nobody in the hall even _moved_.

"Wait, what the fuck?" Riser shoved Rias away, walking towards Issei. "How did you get in? Guards!"

"Stand down," Sirzechs motioned, and the devils that were about to apprehend Issei froze. "Speak, human Issei Hyoudou. Tell us your relationship with my sister, the bride-to-be."

Issei blinked. For a moment, Ravel could've sworn that he was completely caught off-guard, but her suspicions were erased when he smoothly rolled into his next statement.

"She's _mine_. If you think that I'm going to let her get taken by some weak-ass devil, you're joking."

His words were so emphatic and convincing that even Riser faltered for a half a second. Then, completely pissed off, he whirled around and roared at Sirzechs, "Oi, what the fuck is the meaning of this?"

Another man also turns towards Sirzechs, but his tone of voice is much more restrained. "Son, what is happening? Should this… _human_ be burnt on the spot?"

The Maou of the Underworld was sporting a full smile at this point, as if he was thoroughly enjoying this. "Father, Riser. I believe that my lovely sister's engagement party should be a flashy one. If there's no fight, how boring would that be?"

 _A fight_. Ravel blanched. Did Sirzechs really want to have the human boy fight Riser? That was just sending someone to their death.

"A fight…" Riser echoed.

"Riser," Sirzechs said sharply, "if you cannot defeat this human, you are not worthy of my sister. Defeat him, and you will have my complete blessing. After all, is this not an excellent way to show us all how strong the third son of the House of Phenex is?"

Sirzechs' words struck a cord in Riser's heart.

"If it's a fight you want," he glared at Issei, "it's a fight you'll get, you little shit."

" _No!_ "

Rias took a step forward, but she was quickly restrained by Grayfia. "Issei, _what are you doing?_ You—"

"Rias," Sirzechs interjected, "you ought to have a bit more faith in this boy. Humans… are interesting creatures. They are full of infinite possibilities. None of you may have noticed, but he's quite talented in masking his aura. Riser, if you underestimate him, this fight may be over sooner than you think."

"Bullshit. What are we waiting for? If you want to see my power, I'll fucking show you my power."

Slowly, a smile appeared on Issei's face. His once brown eyes rapidly became crimson.

 _Holy shit_. Ravel instinctively backed away. The expression was incredibly similar to her brother's, but there was one key difference. Riser smiled like that when he had a thirst for women or for sex. This smile, on the other hand, was a thirst for _blood_.

"Sirzechs," Issei called calmly, "once I beat this fool down, I would like for this marriage to be annulled and for the freedom of choice to be granted to Rias Gremory. Let her pick whoever she wants to marry."

The smile on the Lucifer's face could not get any wider at this point. "Very well. Should you be victorious, I will allow you to take Rias back to the surface. May the strongest win!"

 **.:.**

The center of the hall was cleared out. A giant circle was formed in the space, and Grayfia created a protective barrier in the shape of a dome.

Inside, two figures stood facing each other. One was Riser, regarding his opponent with a furious glare, while Issei gazed at him impassively. Suddenly, a giant flame burst out of Riser's back, morphing into a massive pair of wings.

"Are you two ready?"

Their mutual silence was a good enough answer. Sirzechs signaled for the battle to begin, and a large group of devils began to slowly pound on drums to indicate the start of the fight.

"You ready?" Riser taunted, rising into the sky. "I wield the power of the Phoenix. A puny mortal like you is not even worthy of standing on the same stage as me."

Before Issei could retort, Riser sent a hellstorm of flames right at the boy. As far as Ravel could tell, no conscious effort was made to dodge the attack at all. Issei just stood there and allowed the jets of flames to completely envelop his body. The force of the attack caused the barrier dome to crack near the base, and Ravel could feel the intense heat from her position.

Even if Issei managed to dodge, the raw heat of the fire should have melted his skin off. Ravel bit her lip and turned away, not wanting to witness the gruesome death of a human teen.

"Is this your fire?"

Issei stood, wreathed in flames. The fire acted like an entity, curling around him like snakes. Even as the fire traveled up his arm, the skin wasn't burnt at all. His entire body was immune to the Phenex House's famous fire.

With a single swipe of his arm, the flames dissipated. At this point, a somewhat panicked expression appeared on Riser's face and he tried to send another burst of fire at Issei, but this time, the fire stopped mid path. It condensed into a incredibly dense sphere of pure energy and floated towards Issei, where he plucked it out the sky and put it in his mouth, swallowing it in one gulp and laughing.

Now, it wasn't just Riser who was freaking out. Every devil in the room that had a pair of eyes and could see what was happening had their jaws on the ground.

"W-What?" Riser's surprise was quickly replaced with rage. "You dare mock me—"

In a burst of flame, Riser was propelled forward with insane speed and attempted to tackle Issei. Right when he was about make impact with the boy, a massive _crack_ resounded through the room and Riser's momentum was completely negated. Ravel couldn't even catch the movement that had occurred, but Issei managed to deliver some sort of blow that crushed Riser's face and sent him flying into the other side of the barrier, landing on the ground in a pitiful heap. His flame wings extinguished as his regenerative powers kicked in, but Issei didn't stop there.

One moment he was on the other side of the battle arena; the other, Issei was right on top of Riser's body. With a stomp on his shoulder blade, Issei pressed Riser's body flat against the ground as his free hand gripped the devil's right arm. Almost like child's play, Issei completely tore out the limb and flung it towards the center of the arena, splattering blood everywhere.

Ravel screamed at him to stop, but Issei didn't even hesitate. In a methodical fashion, Issei picked up Riser by the neck and threw him across the battleground. The devil's battered body crashed against the barrier before it fell to the ground.

Issei stared down at his clothes, and apparently, he noticed some sort of stain because he uttered, "Crap. I don't think I can get this out."

"You…" Riser staggered to his feet, already beginning to regrow his arm, "you _fucker!_ You _piece of shit! How dare you_ —"

"You have a pretty strong regeneration," Issei said simply. "I think it's because of that fact that you can somehow fool yourself into believing that you have a chance of beating me."

He raised his hand and stretched it out towards Riser. The devil braced himself, expecting another barrage of attacks, but nothing came. Instead, Issei did something very simple.

He snapped.

Riser's eyes widened. The arm that was rapidly regenerating suddenly… stopped. Where a right arm should have been was only a stump that stopped right above the elbow. Everyone in the room began to understand the event that just occurred: Issei had somehow completely disabled the House of Phenex's famed regeneration ability. Riser, who was just beginning to realize this for himself, fell onto his knees as he stared at his stump of an arm.

"What a shame." Issei looked at his own left hand. "I thought that you were actually going to be a challenge. I thought that the one who held the power of a mystical bird would be a bit stronger. _But this fight was not entertaining to me at all_."

The crowd watched in bated breath. Riser yelled and struggled, trying to activate any aspect of his demonic power, but nothing happened.

"I didn't know what I was expecting, though. After all," Issei smiled savagely, "what is a phoenix compared to a dragon?"

Slowly and deliberately, a crimson gauntlet manifested on his left arm. As if a dam was broken, an unbearable pressure was released on the room. Ravel shut her eyes in an attempt to withstand the onslaught, but nothing she could do could ease the pressure. But, out of concern for her brother, Ravel forced her eyes open again. By this point, the rhythmic drumming that accompanied the battle had completely stopped.

Then Ravel realized that there was a _barrier_ in between Issei and the crowd. A lot of them, especially the weaker ones, reacted like Ravel did, but she failed to take into consideration that the barrier that Grayfia was currently holding up was actively suppressing the vast majority of… whatever it was that was emanating from Issei's body. Even Sirzechs looked surprised by the onslaught of raw power. Inside the barrier, her brother felt the trueforce of Issei's aura.

Then, Issei sealed the fight with a single word: "[Boost]."

Instantly, Grayfia's barrier exploded. Any lesser devil instantly fell flat on their knees, flattened by the unrelenting force. Issei didn't make any effort to hide his aura anymore, freely letting all the pent up energy flow out of his body as a shock wave, nearly sending Ravel and the other devils flying out of their seats. However, Riser remained rooted to the spot as if he was chained there, and Issei turned his now bright red gaze onto the devil.

His throat began to glow red, and Ravel, fearing the worst, flew forward. Right as Issei unleashed a torrent of blistering dragon fire, Ravel covered her brother and screamed as loudly as she could, " _STOP!_ "

The fire paused in midair. The sheer heat from the flames caused her skin to blister and her clothes to burn, but Ravel still covered her unresponsive brother.

Instantly, the pressure evaporated into nothingness along with the flame. The heat dissipated, and Ravel, completely exhausted from just _moving_ under Issei's dominating presence, slumped over her brother. Her wounds were quickly healed by her regenerative ability, but her fatigue did not disappear as conveniently as Issei's fire did.

Issei's eyes were like a pool of molten lava, but they eventually cooled back down to their normal brown hue. The strange gauntlet was also gone from his arm. His expression was apathetic. In the complete silence of the room, he turned around and looked at all of the slack-jawed devils. A few of them were even getting back up from the ground.

"Riser," Ravel cried, grabbing her brother's cheeks in her hands. Most of his face was still deformed after it received Issei's blow, and his eyes were just… blank. They were completely empty. "Riser! Nii—" she caught herself before she called Riser _Nii-chan_.

 _Oh, man_. Ravel knew she was close to crying, and she also knew she had the ugliest cry in the world. It would be incredibly embarrassing if she burst into tears, but with Riser looking like a fucking vegetable it was hard for her not to—

"Relax," Issei Hyoudou said, patting her on the head. "He's in shock, I think. I'm sure he'll wake up sooner if I just…"

 _Snap_.

Riser fell over, but, like a miracle, his stump began to fully grow back into an arm. The broken bones in his face were also beginning to rearrange themselves into his proper facial structure, signalling a return of his demonic energy.

"T-Thank you," Ravel sniffled, turning towards Issei.

He took a precautionary step backwards, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Don't say thank you. I was the one who nearly beat him to death, so…"

Someone cleared their throat, prompting Issei and Ravel to turn towards the sound. Sirzechs stood, taking a massive gulp from his glass of wine. "Wow. Well, I think that it is safe to say that Issei Hyoudou has officially defeated Riser Phenex."

Mutters of agreement rose from the rest of the devils, but there was still a slight air of awe in the dining hall. Most of them probably thought that they were having a nightmare of some sort.

"I have never seen a talent for power like that in all my time alive," the Lucifer admitted. "Issei Hyoudou, as promised, the marriage between Rias Gremory and Riser Phenex is annulled. You may take her back to the surface."

Rias stepped forward, but her expression was still frozen as if she couldn't believe her good fortune. The rest of her peerage followed with varying expressions—the queen had a disturbing look of pleasure on her face, as if she thoroughly enjoyed the beatdown that she just witnessed, so Ravel resolved to stay away from that one.

"Not now, though!" Sirzechs laughed, leaping down the flight of stairs and gracefully gliding towards Issei's location. When he landed, he wrapped his arm around the boy's shoulders and pushed him forward.

"Wait, what."

"We're all still here and the night's still young!" the devil laughed. "Let's get some music going and start the real party—how does that sound?"

Whatever response the devils had was drowned out by a sudden, loud blast of music. A entire section of trumpets blasted a chord, and in response, confetti exploded from hidden perches in the chandeliers while streamers were shot high into the air. The still atmosphere was instantly replaced with a new, festive one.

"… are you really that happy that Rias isn't getting married?" Ravel dimly heard Issei ask, but she didn't have to strain her ears at all to hear the infectiously cheerful Maou's response.

"Of course! Best day of my life, just barely better than the night of my own marriage—wait, I didn't mean that. Grayfia! Stop, stop, I'm sorry!"

"Can I go home now?"

" _Noooo_ , there's so many people that want to meet you! Maybe you might find someone you like and we'll be hosting _your_ marriage here instead. We could always use a strong fighter—"

"Grayfia, please help. Please don't leave me."

"Nonsense! Grayfia, go get this man some sake. Serafall, come here!"

Issei idly wondered just what he got himself into.

* * *

 **Haha, Issei bites off a bit more than he can chew.**

 **This chapter was pretty hard to write for a few reasons. The part of the LN that this correlates to is the last little bit of Volume 1 and Volume 2, where Issei fights the fallen angels and fights Riser. However, I'm keeping Raynare alive (for now, or maybe forever, haha) and the other fallen angels alive so they can play a bigger role in the story later on. That's sorta why they're laying low now. As for the Riser mini-arc (is what I'm going to refer to it as), a large part of that story was how Issei trained for the Rating Game and how the Rating Game actually went.**

 **The conversation with Koneko was interesting to write. I had to look up senjutsu to understand a bit more about how it works in the DxD universe, but I've got a pretty solid grasp on it at this point. Issei also has a past experiences with nekomatas, and I wonder who could've traumatized him (definitely not Kuroka! I'm kidding, it's Kuroka).**

 **Since Issei isn't a part of Rias's peerage, I opted to leave out the part where they were training. In fact, I wanted to make it clear that Issei didn't really want to help Rias out (despite considering her to be a "good" devil) until Sona came up with that plan. A large part of why he decided to act was his selfish desire to find that angel that saved him. If he could gain Sirzech's favor, well, you'll see what he does with it next chapter.**

 **As for the fight with Riser, I never considered him an opponent capable of matching the Issei in this story. If he was able to be defeated by canon Issei, he should be absolutely** _ **slaughtered**_ **by this one. That's why I kept it brief and brutal, and I added in the little touch where Issei whips out [Boosted Gear] for some giggles. I had the fight in Ravel's perspective because a) why not and b) I wanted to add in the perspective of someone who thought that Riser was more than just a complete asshole.**

 **Also, Issei unveils one of his powers this chapter! It has something to do with the "End" in Unholy Dragon of the End, but I won't say anything else besides that.**

 **Once again, thank you all that have reviewed and favorited and followed. I'm thankful for each and every one of my readers :)**

 **Serafall Leviathan? Irina and Xenovia coming soon!? Some more interaction with the Occult Research Club? Gabriel finally meeting Issei face to face in a chapter or two?**

 **Lemme know how it went and what you want to see in the future!**


	4. Please Train Me

**It's SUMMER! I hope you all are having a good time~**

 **Thank you all immensely for the 600ish+ follows and favorites. When I first started writing Unholy Dragon of the End, I had no idea that it was going to become this big! Much thanks, much thanks :)**

 **Also, I've recently uploaded a new story; if y'all could go give it some love and support, that'd be great!**

* * *

The dream must come to an end—that is Issei's final goal. This is the story leading up to that final encounter, and somewhere in between, he gets caught up in this huge mess between various mythological factions and manages to score himself a harem. Featuring an adorable Ophis, a yandere Gabriel, and a crabby Crom Cruach as a mentor. Some OOC characters. OP!Issei x Harem.

* * *

 **ARC I: In Search of an Angel**

* * *

Unholy Dragon of the End

 **Please Train Me**

* * *

A petite girl bounded over to the grandiose table that Sirzechs and the Sekiryuutei were sitting at, greeting both of them with a cheerful, "Hi hi! You called for me?"

"Yup," said Sirzechs. He received a bottle of sake from his wife and poured a bit of it into a cup for the boy beside him. "Issei Hyoudou, this is Serafall Leviathan. I'm going to go grab some people, so you two just sit tight!"

Issei blinked. Serafall certainly was an attractive woman, but Issei had seen many beauties in his short lifetime, so there was no way that he would allow for his thoughts to become distracted. Yes, she was attractive. He understood that. It was a simple fact. Asia, Sona, Rias, Akeno, Koneko, the list went on and on—they were all beauties in his life comparable to the woman in front of him. Yes, yes. It wasn't a big deal at all. She's attractive. It's fine. But…

Issei inclined his head politely towards the Satan, responding with an air of calm. "Nice to meet you, Serafall."

 _Holy hell she's hot!_ A ferocious blush threatened to steal away whatever dignity he had, and he barely managed to keep it down by imagining cold showers. Something about Serafall Leviathan struck at a weak spot within him! Something about her twin-tailed black hair, her familiar diminutive stature, the—

Shit.

Issei understood why he had this type of internal response. It was simple, once he realized who Serafall looked like.

Serafall essentially looked like Ophis except with a significantly larger bust and violet eyes. The hair was different, too, but the color and length seemed to be similar. Actually… the more Issei looked, the more differences he could spot, but even with the gap between their two personalities, the impression and vibe that he received from Serafall still reminded him of Ophis somehow—not cute, adorable Ophis, but a sexed-up, curvy Ophis. And that… _bothered_ him a bit. Otherwise, Serafall would not have elicited this type of reaction from him. He took those wanton thoughts and shoved it into a deep pit inside of him.

 _Lolicon_.

 _Get the fuck out of my thoughts, Ddraig!_

" _Yaaaaaaaay!_ " Serafall cried, suddenly enveloping Issei in a tight embrace. "I finally get to meet you! I've been dying to see the person that managed to catch my adorable little sister's interest, you know?"

He felt two wonderful sensations when she squeezed him without a shred of embarrassment, and the soft scent of apples lingered when she finally released him. Absentmindedly, Issei noted that the Sitri sisters both smelled like apples. Then he realized how creepy it might've been for him to remember something like that, so he made an effort to actively forget that fact.

With a complete poker face, Issei said, "Sona talks about me?"

"Mhmm! She was _anguishing_ over the fact that she wasn't able to get you into her peerage," she revealed, completely selling out her sister. Then, in a shockingly accurate imitation of Sona's voice, Serafall cried, " _Nee-chan, Issei doesn't want to join me! Oohh, he's so cool… that slight aura of mystery, his handsome face… I just wish that he would hurry up and ravish me, bend me over the desk and just buttfu—"_

"Doubt." Issei instantly cut in, preventing Serafall from using Sona's voice to say anything further. "There's… no way she said any of that."

"Teehee." Serafall smiled widely. "Sorry, sometimes I forget things, so I have to extrapolate. At least seventy percent of it was real, though."

Issei bit back the rising retort in his throat. _Which seventy percent?!_

"Be honest," she said, "What are your thoughts towards Sona? If you ask one hundred people whether or not they think that she's a sexy, beautiful girl, one hundred and eleven would say that she is! Her three sizes are also pretty impressive, too, and I'm sure you're interested in her cup size—well, she's not as big as me, but she's still growing, so don't worry! Also, her glasses kinda give her a nice charm, right?

Issei had the feeling that he was navigating a minefield. Carefully, he replied, "I think Sona's a very respectable person. She has a strong sense of duty… but I think that she's a bit too self-sacrificing. When I say that, I mean that she really ought to look out for herself a bit more."

Serafall's entire aura subtly shifted. Letting out a small hum, she said, "That's a surprisingly good answer, Issei."

Issei merely said,"I was just being honest."

"Hmmm? Well, can I ask another question?"

"Sure," Issei allowed, "go for it."

With that innocent, unsuspecting smile, Serafall asked in a juxtaposingly serious voice:

"Why were you holding back?"

Her words elicited a response from deep within him. _Hooo?_ Ddraig rumbled, _she found us out._

Issei simply gave a polite chuckle. It seemed to be that Serafall saw straight through him when he had fought Riser. Well, it wasn't like he was afraid of anybody figuring out that he was holding back. As long as they didn't figure out what was behind the second, third, or fourth seals, Issei couldn't care less.

"What are you saying?" he laughed, shaking his head. "I fought Riser pretty earnestly."

Serafall pouted adorably and crossed her arms. It was obvious that she did not believe him. However, before she could question him further, Issei's saving grace appeared.

"Issei~" Sirzechs sang, finally returning to the table, "look at who I brought!"

Issei completely missed the frown that crossed Serafall's face when he turned to look at the other devil. Trailing behind the Satan was Rias and her peerage, and while Rias was in a tight, red dress, the rest of the peerage simply wore the Kuoh Academy uniform.

"Oh. Hey."

Rias reacted to his words with a slight blush. Her entire body squirmed a little bit as she burned a hole into the ground with her stare, but she managed to stammer out, "H-Hi, Issei… I w-wanted to thank… y-you."

"That's quite a reaction, isn't it?" Serafall murmured as she looked at Rias with a sidelong glance, accurately voicing Issei's exact thoughts.

"Don't worry about it," Issei dismissed. However, he was slightly curious as to why the typically self-assured Rias was acting the way that she did.

 _Hey, idiot,_ Ddraig's voice piped up from within him, _you got yourself into this situation. Take responsibility. Don't you remember what you said?_ In a crude mockery of Issei's voice, Ddraig recited, _She's_ mine. _If you think that I'm going to let her get taken by some weak-ass devil, you're joking._

Well… unfortunately, Issei could not deny that he had made such a bold declaration. He really didn't expect anything to come out of it, though. It couldn't have been that easy to raise a flag, now, could it?

He was jolted out of his thoughts when someone tugged on his sleeve. As he turned around, Issei found an adorable little nekomata peering up at him.

"Thank you, senpai." Despite the kind words, there was not a single ounce of emotion in her tone. Unable to resist, Issei patted Koneko gently on the head. The only reaction that he received was a slight tilt of the head.

"Ara, ara~ you two seem awfully familiar."

Issei turned his attention to the two girls in front of him. Akeno gave him a small smile while Asia greeted him with a ferocious glomp, and without any further incidents, Rias' peerage was seated at the table.

Within moments, the Gremory servants brought out lavish meals. A far cry from the simple, earthly appetizers that were already present on the table, Issei's sight was greeted with ridiculous and slightly terrifying dishes. Chief amongst them was a live, four-eyed demonic-looking fish swimming around in a boiling pot of water, but that spectacle certainly didn't lose out to the grilled tendrils of some underworld beast.

At Sirzechs' beckoning, Issei tentatively tried some of the tendrils. It actually tasted like fried calamari, so he decided to try some of the other available foods. To his surprise, most of the meals tasted amazing despite their freakish appearance.

For a while, Issei ate in silence, only speaking whenever he tasted something particularly good. The opportunity to taste a completely new style of cuisine was not lost on him. After he had eaten his fill and stopped inhaling the contents of his plate, Issei began to speak in a low tone.

"Sirzechs, this might seem sudden, but can I ask for a favor from you?"

Sirzechs sobered up, regathering his attention. He'd spent the last few minutes staring straight at Rias. "Of course… is what I'd like to say, but I have no idea what you're proposing so I'm afraid that I can't make any preemptive promises."

"That's fair."

"Hmm… this might be interesting, so can I listen in?" Serafall rested an elbow on the table and leaned in close to the other two men.

After a bit of deliberation, Issei deemed that it wouldn't pose any harm for Serafall to hear what he wanted to ask from the Lucifer. "I don't mind."

If only Issei knew how much of a mistake that was.

"So, my future brother-in-law"—Issei flinched a bit at those words—"what can I do for you?" Sirzechs amicably offered.

"There's someone that I want to meet. But," he said before Sirzechs or Serafall could say anything, "it might be a bit more problematic than that."

With a simple, straightforward question, Issei asked, "What is the current relationship between the devils and the angels?"

"Hoho, now that's an interesting question. I'm guessing that the person that you want to meet is an angel?"

Issei nodded simply.

"Do you know his name?"

"Her," Issei corrected politely. Serafall's eyebrow raised once she heard this, and she took a cup of tea into her hands. "And to answer your question, no."

"Her appearance? Or, more specifically, how many wings she had?"

A pleasant memory washed over Issei's conscience. Recalling all the details he could, Issei said without any hesitation, "She had blonde hair, twelve wings, and was easily one of the most beautiful women that I'd ever seen in my life."

The cup of tea in Serafall's hands was instantly crushed by her deceptively powerful fingers. For a moment, there was a brief flash of utter hatred and loathing in the girl's violet eyes, twisting her entire expression, but just as instantly as that look arrived, it melted away into a sheepish grin.

"Sorry, the cup slipped! Hehe."

 _Did it? Did it really?_ Issei thought, alarmed. _You very obviously destroyed it with your bare hands!_

Sirzechs looked like he was about to burst into laughter at any moment. Evidently, there was something that Issei was not privy to, but he waited for Sirzechs to regain his composure. "Ah, don't mind her. If I'm thinking of the right person, then the angel that you're seeking out is Serafall's rival."

Serafall muttered something under her breath. Issei only managed to catch, "… should've killed that bitch back in the war…"

"The Seraph who holds the title of Heaven's Strongest and Most Beautiful Woman, G—" Sirzechs paused. "Actually, I think I'll let you figure her name out when you two meet. But Issei, you dog, is my little sister not enough?"

Although he was a bit miffed that Sirzechs withheld her name from him, Issei figured that at least now he had something concrete to work with. "No, it's not like that. She saved my life once. I've been trying to find her ever since then."

Sirzechs tapped his cheek with his finger and tilted his head. It seemed that he was pondering something, and it was truly the perfect moment for a quick interlude.

* * *

"Gabriel. Gabriel!"

Mirana Shatarova, Gabriel's close subordinate, quickly caught the Seraph before she crumpled to the floor. Ensuring that Gabriel's long hair didn't touch the ground, Mirana carried her bridal style to the nearest couch, quickly noticing the red tinge to the angel's cheeks.

She placed her hand on Gabriel's forehead and immediately cried out. "By the Heavenly Father! You're burning up! Gabriel, are you sick? You've been working too much, haven't you?"

"He said… he said…"

The Seraph's words were interrupted by small _haah_ and _hnnh_ noises, and the angel felt flustered at watching Gabriel shudder lewdly. Then, in an unexpected move, Gabriel's hands reached up and grasped Mirana's face, pulling her down with a tremendous amount of force. Instantly, Mirana's head of jet-black hair was smothered into Gabriel's pillowy breasts as the Seraph embraced her, roughly entwining her legs with the lesser angel's.

"G-Gabriel!" Mirana cried out, her own olive skin beginning to flush a bright pink. The softness on both sides of her cheeks was far too stimulating. "T-T-T-T-This is—!"

Being held flush against the beautiful Seraph's body, Mirana's vision was beginning to fade to white. Not even in her most forbidden fantasies could she have imagined that such a perfect situation would happen! Gabriel, the angel that she admired and loved beyond anything else, her warmth, completely enveloping her, the smooth skin of her legs and her breasts pressed against her face—

Mirana fainted, a small trickle of blood escaping from her right nostril.

In an infinitesimally small voice, Gabriel whispered to no one in particular, "He said that I was beautiful. He's trying to find me!"

She laughed. It was a perfect melody of sounds that sounded much like the tinkling of bells.

"But that third-rate devil _mutt_ , rubbing her paws all over what's _mine_ —"

Gabriel smiled. Her pure, aquamarine eyes did not show a single hint of darkness.

"—unforgivable."

* * *

For some reason, Serafall Leviathan flinched.

It was at this moment that Sirzechs decided to end the lull in the conversation, saying, "To be honest, Issei, the relationship between the devils and the angels is the exact same as the relationship is between all the biblical factions: pretty bad."

Issei frowned.

"We've never made peace, you see," Sirzechs said regretfully. "Or, more accurately, no one has even _tried_ to make peace. It is not a crime for a devil to slaughter an angel or a fallen… it is what is expected of them."

For some reason, Issei thought about Raynare. That stupid moronic idiot, walking right into devil territory like it was her home turf. She might end up getting herself killed one day.

The Lucifer closed his eyes. "But that is something I want to change. Initially, I didn't give a damn about this eternal warring state between the three factions. There were no decisive battles like the old days of the Great War, just minor disputes and skirmishes. The angels would never invade Hell, just like we would never invade Heaven. Every faction is just a shallow imitation of their former power."

Then his eyes opened, and Issei saw the devil's irises flicker towards Rias. She was smiling, talking with Akeno and Asia, and when she noticed Issei and Sirzechs' combined gaze, she flushed like a blooming flower. Without any need for further explanation, Issei achieved a rather solid grasp on the Maou's thinking.

"I don't think I have to say why I want peace now, do I?"

"Not at all. In fact, I've decided that I would like to help you." Ignoring Sirzechs' surprised face, Issei explained, "Well, our interests align. For whatever it may be worth, I will lend you my strength so that you can achieve your peace. All you have to do for me is set up a meeting with the angels that I can tag along to."

"That sounds fine by me," Sirzechs smiled. "I can feel a lot more reassured knowing that someone like you would be seeking peace instead of chaos."

A beat passed.

… _hahahahahahahahaha! If only the poor man knew what type of person you truly are, what your ultimate goal is. Peace? Chaos? Aren't those lesser concepts in your eyes, my host?_ the dragon within him mused cynically.

 _You, Issei Hyoudou, only seek_ _ **the end**_ _. Am I wrong?_

"You're right," Issei said out loud. He didn't bother making a distinction as to whether or not he was replying to Ddraig or replying to Sirzechs.

Sirzechs raised his glass. "Well then, let's have a toast: to the Sekiryuutei and—"

 _BANG!_

For the second time that night, the doors to the hall were busted wide open.

Slightly alarmed by the appearance of an aura radiating raw, unrelenting fury and bloodlust, Issei locked eyes with an elegant-looking bluenette. Something raced through his body at the sight of the woman, but instead of attraction or love, it was more like an inexplicable contempt and annoyance.

 _Ddraig, care to explain?_

The ancient dragon's voice rumbled in his mind. _Ahhh, I never thought I'd see her in the realm of the demons. This, right here, is the strongest of the Dragon Kings, the Chaos Karma Dragon—_

"Ddraig, you sON OF A BITCH!"

She crossed the floor in one bound and flew straight at Issei with breakneck speed, leaving behind dust in her wake. The dishes went flying along with some of the other people sitting around the table as the woman crashed through the chair, smashing into the staircase in a single, fluid motion. She pulled back her fist and was about to cave in Issei's face when she suddenly realized that she only grasped empty air.

From the crater in which she stood, the woman stood up and turned slightly. Issei looked at her from his seat on top the table. At the last moment, he managed to dodge her direct attack, but Issei could tell that his sudden opponent was not one to be underestimated. She was strong—possibly even comparable to Crom Cruach.

— _revenge._

An ice-cold glare met his gaze. Years of hatred were reflected in those blue irises, and her small fists and lithe body trembled at the mere sight of Issei.

"Hello, Tiamat," he greeted, easily identifying the dragon before him. "I think this is the first time we've met. That was a bit rude of you, wasn't it?"

— _seek revenge, Issei._

"Tch." She bowed almost imperceptibly towards Sirzechs in apology. "I was not aware that there was a party going on."

— _ **avenge us, Issei!**_

"No, that's not what I meant." A cruel smile flitted onto Issei's face, and he said tauntingly, "I'm offended that you held back your attack. Did you think that you would be able to hurt me with that weak blow? Do you really think so lowly of me?"

All noises around them evaporated into a stunned silence. Tiamat held an incredulous expression on her face for a moment, as if she could not understand or begin to comprehend what Issei had just said, before it quickly reverted to a scowl.

It truly was a shame that they were born enemies—Tiamat, in her human form, was an exceptional beauty. Though her body was not as curvaceous as some of the other people sitting at the table, her pale face and ice-blue hair combined to give off the impression of an ethereal goddess. Unfortunately, her expression was twisted with hatred, all of which was directly targeted towards him. Fortunately enough, the voices of Ddraig's previous hosts were screaming at him to end Tiamat's life as well, so the hate was mutual in a way.

Issei briefly caught Sirzechs' eye, and when he saw a slight shake of the head, Issei took a deep breath. At the same time, the festering voices in the back of his head dulled a little bit as Issei regained the control he had almost lost. "Actually," he backtracked, breaking the silence in the hall, "we're having a celebration right now. I apologize for what I said earlier."

He got off of the table and took a step towards Tiamat. Completely baffling everyone by his sudden change in tone and demeanor, Issei smiled and kindly said, "I'm Issei Hyoudou. It's nice to meet you." He extended his arm for a handshake.

Tiamat looked at his hand suspiciously. When she finally accepted his handshake, Issei felt something incredibly strange besides the complete absence of heat from her palm. Although her hand was freezing, it actually felt like Issei's hand was actively melting—no, that wasn't quite correct. It felt like the flesh on his hand was turning into water.

Even then, he looked at Tiamat and forced a smile. Without a doubt, his gesture infuriated her, and she quickly ended their handshake.

"Ddraig," she said curtly, evidently trying to reign in her anger, "I haven't forgotten." Then, turning towards Issei, Tiamat warned: "Issei Hyoudou. We'll be meeting again soon."

Without bothering to wait for a reply, without a single care for the sudden chaos that she had wrought, Tiamat's body disintegrated into water vapor and dissipated into the air. In the meantime, the talented Gremory servants had already set about fixing the damage that the dragon had caused.

Sighing, Issei sat back down in his seat. "That's going to be troublesome. Sorry about that," he amended, glancing at Sirzechs.

"Don't worry about it," the Maou returned. "Rather, I'd like to thank you for not escalating the situation."

Issei inclined his head tersely. With Tiamat's presence gone, the outraged voices retreated from his consciousness, easing the strain on his mind. Evidently, Issei had become lax in his control over his own powers. He considered himself lucky that he was able to reign himself in instead of escalating the situation.

"Anyways, it's getting rather late, isn't it?" Sirzechs asked. "Don't you all have school tomorrow, Rias?"

Having her name suddenly called out startled Rias, and for a moment, she looked like a deer caught in headlights. It was amusing for Issei to see the huge difference between the calm and collected senpai at school and the easily embarrassed imouto in the presence of Sirzechs.

"Y-yeah."

"Alright then, it's time for you all to get going." Sirzechs stood up, looking Issei directly in the eye. He extended a hand, mimicking Issei's gesture towards Tiamat mere moments ago. "It was nice meeting you, Issei. I'm sure that I'll be seeing you again."

The wink that Sirzechs sent him afterwards was deeply troubling.

* * *

Issei blinked at the blonde boy bowing deeply in front of him.

Not even a day had passed since the _Red Wedding_ incident (a term for his wedding-crasher activity that Issei considered himself very clever for coming up with, but Ddraig instantly pointed out the lack of imagination and accuracy in deeming it so) and already he was being approached by Rias' peerage. Though, after Issei put some thought into it, it was natural for them to come and ask _some_ sort of question. If Issei was in their shoes, he would be flipping out after a seemingly normal human trounced a high-class devil.

However, what Yuuto said next surprised Issei.

"Please train me."

"No," Issei answered immediately.

As he turned away from the pretty boy before him, Issei pointedly ignored the confused glances of his classmates and quickly left the classroom. After all, Issei fought with his own distinct style. Trying to teach a devil how to fight like a dragon was a foolish exercise at best.

 **.:.**

"Please train me."

The same words, the same bow… Issei frowned and said: "No."

Now there were a few whispers coming from his classmates. _Please train me?_ Some of them even went so far as to wonder aloud whether or not Yuuto and Issei were engaged in some freaky BDSM play, leading Issei to wonder about the twisted mind came up with that idea.

On his way out, Issei heard some surprisingly vivid descriptions and conjectures. Issei tried his best not to blanch at the images seared into his head and dipped at the highest human speed possible.

 **.:.**

"Please train me."

Issei slung his bag over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes. "No."

Issei's classmates decided that Yuuto was better off being the sub while Issei fit the role of a dom quite nicely.

 **.:.**

"Please train—"

Not even bothering letting him finish, Issei snapped, "No."

The fanart was already beginning to spread. Issei could hear Ddraig laughing at him in the back of his mind.

 **.:.**

"Please—"

"Yes."

"Wait, really?"

"Absolutely not."

Issei's classmates nodded in unison. He would be a great dom.

 **.:.**

"Issei, we're friends, right?"

Pausing mid-bite, Issei looked at Asia with a slight hint of confusion. Under his befuddled look, Asia squirmed a bit but still produced a blindingly sweet smile.

"You alright?" Issei asked suddenly, leaping to conclusions with the zeal of an Olympic jumper. "If anyone's bullying you, tell me about it and I'll k—"

"No!" Asia nearly shrieked, crossing her arms into an "X" shape. "I-I meant to say, friends do favors for each other, right?"

Slightly suspicious of the direction that the conversation was heading towards, Issei allowed, "… yes."

Without any warning, Asia stood up. She quickly glanced around, her face as red as a forest fire, and ensured that nobody else was on the rooftop with them. When she was satisfied, Asia screwed her eyes shut and let loose a short prayer, but in the middle of her words, Asia recoiled from some sort of phantom pain. Her fingers trembled at the bottom of her uniform's skirt.

"Uhm, Asia? What are you—"

Her hands yanked up.

…

White lace. Excessively frilly. Completely surprising and mature for a girl like Asia. A beautiful compliment to the milky white of her inner thighs, mere inches from his face.

…

The blonde dropped her skirt to cover her panties and quickly sat back down. She looked like she was about to burst into tears, and Issei was just left with a silence that he had no idea how to dispel. Was he supposed to acknowledge what had just happened? How would he even start talking? _Oh, u-uhm, your panties are nice? Thanks for showing them to me?_

Issei tried to look into Asia's eyes and discern a bit of her emotions or motivations for flashing him, but the girl adamantly stared at the ground. After mulling over several theories in his mind—even briefly entertaining the possibility that Asia had been possessed by a succubus—Issei arrived at the same conclusion that he had jumped to a few moments ago.

"Asia," Issei mustered in the softest tone he could voice, "are you being bullied?"

Without saying a word, Asia leaned forward and smacked her forehead into his chest. Her words were muffled by his shirt. "N-No. It's j-just that, I wanted to do a favor for you, and Akeno s-said that this was the best way to do it."

"Well… next time don't listen to Akeno." Issei gingerly patted the girl on her back, warily eyeing the sky. For some strange reason, dark, heavy storm clouds had begun to gather over the horizon. "But why did you want to do that?"

Still pressed to his chest, Asia took a moment to respond. "Because n-now you owe me." Despite the waver in her voice, Asia gave her best effort to sound commanding. "I mean, I did a… did a favor for you, right? So you owe me now."

Inwardly, Issei realized that he ought to mention that that wasn't how things worked lest Asia started flashing people her lingerie every time she needed a favor, but he ultimately decided to remain silent and listen to what she had to say.

Asia pulled back and looked at him straight in the eyes. "Please train Yuuto!"

The smack of Issei's hand to his forehead rang throughout the entire school.

* * *

"Can I join you."

"You shouldn't even have to ask by now," Issei smiled warmly, making a bit of extra space in his bathtub.

Without another word, Ophis slid into the water. She rested her small body against his and hummed with a satisfied contentedness when Issei wound an arm around her waist. Suddenly, Ophis backed off and shifted to the other side of the tub.

"… Ophis?"

"I remembered. I'm supposed to be mad at you."

Issei frowned. "Why?"

"You're spending a lot of time with those devils," Ophis said simply. Then, robotically, mechanically, without any sort of change in tone or volume, she recited, "Baka Issei."

He chuckled. "What was that?"

"Tsundere service."

"Tsundere service…" Issei's eyes narrowed. "Did Crom Crotch teach you that?"

Ophis nodded. "I have more lines. Would you like to hear them."

"Go for it," he encouraged.

"Shut up, baka. Do you think this is a joke. I really couldn't care less about you, you worthless existence that is lesser than a dung beetle but slightly better than a water flea." For extra emphasis, Ophis crossed her arms over her relatively flat chest and huffed.

"Why are you not praising God for having the chance to bathe with me," she continued.

"Crom Crotch told me that he was dead or something, though," Issei replied with a cheeky grin.

"I hate you. I despise you. Even in this situation, you are so worthless that you can't even make a move on me. Absolutely repugnant. Shut up, baka."

"Ah, you repeated a line."

"Did I give you permission to speak. Don't get the wrong idea, okay. I'm just doing this because I was forced into it by some unavoidable circumstances. Yep, yep. It's not like I like you or anything."

"Hehe. You're so cute, Ophis," Issei grinned. Unlike the vast majority of the savage smiles that he reserved for usage with other people, the smile that he kept for Ophis was a simple, sweet one.

She exhaled and rested her cheek against the side of the tub. "This is tiring."

"Do you want me to wash you?"

Ophis looked up at him through her dark eyelashes. "… yes."

 **.:.**

Raynare landed softly on the path to the front door. Under the darkness of the new moon, she was free to fly to the Hyoudou residence without worrying too much about being spotted.

She walked up to the door and knocked three times. After a rather lengthy period of time, the door was thrown open and a disgruntled Issei Hyoudou popped out.

"What are you doing here, Raynare?"

The busty fallen angel grew wide-eyed and fidgeted underneath his stare. Once again, she was in her stripperiffic outfit, but Issei pointedly ignored the blatant feast for his eyes. She responded, "I-I have some news. I don't really know what's happening, b-but I think it's something big."

Issei narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

Rather than meeting his gaze, Raynare's eyes zeroed in on his chest and abs before turning towards the sky. Clearing her throat, she asked, "Um… can you put on a shirt first?"

"Oh. Yeah, I guess." As Issei turned around to get some clothes, Raynare shamelessly allowed herself to admire the boy's taut back muscles.

When he had initially come out of his house in nothing but some loose-fitting boxers, it took everything that she had in order to hold herself back. If Issei was a normal human boy and not some crazy stupidly powerful fire-breathing whatever the hell he was, Raynare definitely would have pushed him down and taken him right there and then. Unfortunately, if she were to attempt that, Raynare knew that he would just grab her by the neck and throw her over the horizon or something.

She watched as he emerged in a plain t-shirt and shorts. Even then, his hair was slightly wet, clinging a bit to the nape of his neck. Well… there'd be no harm in trying, right? It was awfully tempting. The young man was looking shmackable.

 _Aww, man!_ Raynare bit her lip. Being a fallen angel made her susceptible to all of the Seven Deadly Sins, and she was feeling Luxuria in full bloom at the moment.

"Well?" Issei started. "What were you talking about?"

Raynare was jolted back to reality and swallowed thickly, remembering the reason that she had sought Issei in the first place. "Have you heard of the Excalibur swords?"

He racked his brain for a little bit. "Are you talking about the shards of the broken Excalibur?"

"Yes. Originally, the Church and the angels are in charge of protecting and maintaining them, but I've heard that they've been stolen and that two exorcists are being sent to this city to retrieve them."

"… and?"

With all of her previous horniness gone, Raynare's tone was completely serious. "One of our leaders, Kokabiel, is plotting to kill them in order to escalate the war between the three factions."

"Okay," he said suspiciously, "and why are you telling me this?"

A stab of pain spiked through Raynare at his words. Though, to be fair, her past actions did warrant the wariness that Issei was showing. "I serve Azazel first and foremost, and he desires peace rather than war."

This time, Issei didn't say a single word. Instead, his probing brown eyes seemed to just scream, _why? Why are you here? Why are you telling me this?_

"He sent me here," Raynare said, spouting a harmless half-lie. In reality, she was just given vague directions to gather allies; it was her own decision to find Issei. "He's trying to find support. And, seeing as how you seem to have some sort of relationship with the devils, I was hoping that you could help us track down and recover the Excalibur swords."

Instead of the flat rejection that Raynare was expecting, Issei seemed to think for a while, tossing the idea back and forth in his mind. Ultimately, he said, "I have no desires to meddle in the affairs of fallen angels, and I have no authority to speak on behalf of the devils."

"Oh," Raynare said, crestfallen. "I—"

"But," Issei interrupted, "I'll keep an eye out. Just let me know who's with Azazel and who's with Kokabiel, alright? I'd rather not kill a friendly by accident."

The fallen angel allowed herself to smile briefly. The prospect of Azazel praising her for a job well done and being useful made her feel lighthearted. After their failure to secure Asia's Sacred Gear, Raynare's squad had been broken up. Luckily enough for her, Azazel just told her to remain in the city and observe the devils. While it was a very relaxing and easy life, it felt like Raynare was failing to contribute anything.

"Oi." Issei snapped in front of her face. " _Ooiiiii._ "

Raynare let out a cute squeal at the sudden proximity, earning herself a flick to the forehead. Coming from Issei, the flick hurt a lot more than it should've, and Raynare stared up at him with slightly teary eyes.

"Sorry," he offered, though it looked like he was trying to hold back a laugh. "I was asking you whether or not that was all."

"A-Ah, yeah, that shouldbe all," the fallen angel said.

"'kay." Issei turned around, "I'm off to bed, then. Goodnight, Raynare—oh, and next time you show up to my house, wear something else, alright?"

The door was shut smoothly and the lock slid in place before Raynare could even formulate a response. She stood there for a moment and looked at the wooden door before her attention shifted to the small, golden bracelet on her wrist.

"Goodnight, Issei."

* * *

A few days later, two girls clad in Church gear stood at the entrance to Kuoh Academy.

"Are you sure that this is the location?"

"Mou~ have some more faith in me, will ya?"

The one with blue hair shrugged. "It would not be the first time that you arrived the wrong place."

"Not funny," the other girl whined. Her twin-tails whipped around as she shook her head, and she vigorously slapped her own cheeks. "I swear I'm right. He'll be here at any moment!"

"I suppose that it's fine as long as you don't forget about our mission."

She huffed. "Blah, blah, retrieve the Excalibur blades, blah blhhah, observe the devils, blahhb halbhalblahh, stray exorcist, blahehfhhhh."

As her words degenerated into strange noises, the bluenette by her side simply rolled her eyes at her partner's antics. "… I think that that was somewhat correct." But the other girl wasn't even paying attention to her words.

Muttering to herself, lost in a whole other world, Irina Shidou wondered, "Does Issei even remember me?"

* * *

 **And that'll be all! This chapter was much shorter than the last two, being just around 6k words. This was mostly due to it being a transition chapter, where we go from Phenex to the Excalibur/Kokabiel events. It's like one of those filler episodes you see in Naruto, yeah? Luckily though, that means that the next chapter will have a lot more action and be a lot longer.**

 **Irina and Xenovia join the fray! Irina has always been a personal favorite of mine in the show, so it'll be fun writing her. The lads from the ORC will be fleshed out more in the next chapter as well, and you can bet your ass that Tiamat's going to show up. I wish I could find a picture of her in the DxD universe somewhere, though. I've mostly had to make up my own appearance descriptions for her, and I'd be kinda bummed if it wasn't in sync with canon.**

 **Something that I've considered while writing this is whether or not I'd include lemons. Since it's already rated M, I thought** _ **well, why not?**_ **but I wanted to ascertain with the readers whether or not this was chill. I think that I'm going to include them, and if there's a lemon in the chapter, I'll put a warning at the top and at the section so that the readers that want to skip them can. I'd still like to hear your opinion, though.**

 **The countdown to Gabriel begins! If you want something else of mine to read, go check out my profile. I've been in a writing mood lately, so I've put up new stories and updated old ones.**

 **As I said earlier, I've uploaded a new story, go check it out on my profile!**

 **Have a great day everyone. Thanks for reading, and let me know your thoughts!**


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